Hot Temptation
by jennh07
Summary: Puck is an actor/producer. Rachel plays for a Lingerie Football team. The two meet one night after a game and things kick off from there. Eventual Puck/Rachel, Finn/Santana, Mike/Brittany.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Glee, the LA Temptation team, the LFL, Dancing with the Stars or Disney World. However, for the sake of this story, the teams will play each other once. There's 12 teams and two different conferences but for this they'll all play each other at least once. It'll stretch out Games and give me more time to work with. Hope you like it!_

* * *

><p>"Finn Hudson! You <em>idiot<em>" Quinn screamed and threw a picture towards his head. He deflected it off his arm but the glass breaks anyways and cuts his arm.

This is a typical night for him as of lately, besides the throwing of random objects. Usually his blonde girlfriend just yells and screams at him until he gives up and goes to one of his friend's apartment to sleep on the couch. It also doesn't help that he is her agent so even when he doesn't want to talk to her or hear about her, he usually has to.

"Seriously? You've moved on to throwing my shit?"

"How could you back out of our vacation?" At least she isn't screaming anymore, but one hand is on her hip and the other gripping another picture frame. Her hazel eyes are glaring daggers into his. "Puck is on vacation and Mike has nothing coming up except for teaching classes. My movie premiere isn't for another month and I'm not going on my press tour for another three weeks. So please, tell me why you cancelled it."

Finn stares at her, his arms crossed over his chest. At that moment, he wondered why she even wanted to go on this vacation. He knows that she's been having an affair with the lead actor in her new movie that's coming out. People may think he's dumb and only good at his job, but he's really not.

"Quinn…" He breathes out, tired of all this fighting. "Take the damn tickets and go to Hawaii. I don't give a fuck." Then his face lights up, getting an idea. He uncrosses his arms then throws his hands up into the air. "Hey, why don't you take that extra ticket and give it to Sam. That way you two can fuck some more behind my back!" He yells.

He can see that her hand is clearly shaking, the one holding the picture frame. Quinn swallows hard and her eyes are wide. "Finn, I…"

Finn shakes his head and walks to the fridge, grabbing a beer then throws the cap into the sink. "No, we're done. Get your shit out of here."

Grabbing his keys out of the bowl by the door, he walks out the door. He walks a few doors down and bangs loudly on the door. Tipping back the bottle, he drains the contents fast as he hears more things breaking in his apartment. She can break as many picture frames as she wants, he didn't buy them or put the pictures in them.

Puck hears the banging on his door and lazily walks over to it. Once it's open, Finn is standing in gym shorts with a sleeveless shirt, chugging down his beer. A crash comes from down the hall. What the fuck is going on? A door opens revealing a tall Asian man with his eyebrows raised up. Finn moves into the apartment and grabs the unopened bottle of whiskey. Puck moves back from looking over his shoulder, nods his head at the Asian motioning him to come over.

"He fucking dumped me!" A loud shriek comes from Finn's apartment as well as a large thud.

"Mike hurry the fuck up!" Puck whispers, worried that Quinn will hear him.

He runs past the door into Puck's apartment. The door is locked and they turn to find Finn halfway done with the new bottle.

"She makes it sound like it's _my_ fault! Like I'm the one fucking a guy behind her back." Clearly drunk already, Puck shakes his head.

Mike muffles a laugh. Getting a quick smack to the back of the head, Puck moves over and swipes the bottle. "Why is she so mad?" Avoiding the topic of her screaming that she just got dumped, Finn can just get it out when he wants to.

"Because I didn't want to go to Hawaii." He scoffs and reaches for his beer bottle just to find that it's empty. He frowns. "I want to sit at home. In my underwear and just…breathe! No paparazzi following me around screaming for Quinn. No work. Just a 12 pack and some fucking football."

"Okay…" Mike drawls out.

"Told her to take Sam and fuck him there."

"Wow…" Is all that Puck can manage to get out. They all knew a week after Quinn started her new movie that something weird was going on. She didn't come around as much and she became more of a bitch. But he's proud that his best friend finally grew a pair of balls and got rid of her. It was painful to watch.

"My house is going to be wrecked." He gets up and grabs the pack of beer out of the fridge, cradling it like a fragile baby while nursing one like he was a baby, collapsing on the couch afterward.

Mike moves over and grabs a bottle. Finn whines even though he'll have ten more beers so he rolls his eyes and throws the cap onto the coffee table. Puck watches the sad excuse of his night on his couch. Sportscenter while listening to muted crashing sounds coming from down the hall. He feels bad for the poor bastard beneath Finn's apartment. A highlight from a football game comes on and he gets an idea.

"We're all single at the same time. I know the perfect way to start this off with a bang. It's going to be epic." He smirks as Mike looks at him confused and Finn holds his beer with two hands up to his mouth. "For fuck's sake Finn, hold your beer like a man and don't bleed on my couch."

* * *

><p>Rachel is bending over stretching for their pregame practice. Today she got to sleep in and she felt more relaxed than ever since their season started a few weeks ago. A hand moves up her thigh then covers her ass, boobs on her back.<p>

"Berry you have such a great ass. Why haven't we slept together?"

"Santana…" She warns then laughs and stands up.

"Just stating the truth." Her friend waves her hand in the air.

They sit across from each other on the fake grass of the field, Rachel pulling Santana's hands towards her to stretch. She listens as the Latina talks about her latest one night stand, a music agent named Andrew.

Both of them play on a Lingerie Football League team, LA Temptation. The two live together with another girl on the team, Brittany. The latter joined after she and Santana had been on the team for a year. It was cheaper to just get a house together since they all got along. She takes in the look of her best friend. Long sleek black hair, dark eyes and amazing curves on her body. Santana easily had a few inches on herself, which made her a great quarterback anyways. Both her and Brittany were some of the tallest girls on their team.

"You should've stayed. He wanted a threesome so bad and he thought you were really cute."

"Cute?" She sits up and stares at Santana.

"Yeah, cute." She says in a way that she doesn't understand how Rachel can't take it as a compliment. "And Britt wasn't there so I couldn't give him his fantasy. I still got the job done though." She smirks and crosses her arms over her chest, effectively pushing up her breasts a bit.

"You are so disgusting. And it's not her fault she has to go to her cousin's wedding in San Diego."

"Whatever. We're going out after the game, no excuses."

Rachel huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as Santana reaches out and pulls her arms to finish stretching. "Fine. Something casual, a bar. No clubs."

Santana grins. "As long as you come out." She winks. "C'mon, I need to do some practice throws."

When Rachel and Santana are sitting by their lockers, using the small mirrors inside to get ready, Brittany's backup walks over to talk to them. She's about Rachel's height, Rachel pretty short, with straight black hair but a blue streak towards the front. Rachel finishes putting on her mascara and looks at her chocolate brown eyes, admiring her work.

"What's up Tina?" The shorter girl turns and smiles at her while adjusting her black and silver bra top, a big 20 on her left breast.

"Any advice?"

Santana takes a look at the girl while reaching to put Rachel's hair into pig tails. "Yeah, win." She winks.

"Um, okay." Tina starts to back away.

"Wait." Rachel gets up after her hair tie is secure on her left braid and pulls on the girl's arm to get her to sit back down. Once they're situated on the bench, Santana finishes the right braid. "Don't be nervous. I've seen you practice and you're really good. Treat it like that, but don't be scared to actually hit these girls. We want them hurt."

"Thanks Rachel." She's kind of scared that the smaller girl can be okay with the violence but easily shrugs it off.

"Finish getting ready with us."

Tina looks down at herself. Her boy shorts are on, number 11 on the left breast and right butt cheek, black garter with silver lace on her left leg, black knee socks and cleats. She's fully dressed without her pads and helmet.

Santana rolls her eyes. "Just sit down." The Asian girl listens while watching as she pulls out a little jar with black face paint, putting small streaks on Tina's and Rachel's cheeks, following her own. Rachel puts Tina's hair up into a tight pony tail. She relaxes as they lace up their cleats and finish up any last minute makeup touches.

"You forgot something." Rachel smiles and looks to Santana.

Tina looks at them oddly. Santana tosses her the lace choker that goes around their necks. It matches the garter on their leg. "Thanks."

"We need you to be strong on defense." Rachel winks then grabs her pads. "Game time ladies."

Tina follows them out, wondering if they were as nervous as she is on their first game.

* * *

><p>Puck leads the guys to the front row seats on the fifty yard line in the Memorial Coliseum in LA.<p>

"How did you get these seats?" Mike stares in awe.

"Why are you questioning it Chang? Go get some beers."

Mike walks away rolling his eyes as they take their seats. "I don't think this is a good idea." Finn looks around nervously.

"How could this possibly be a bad idea? Girls in lingerie. Football. This is a fucking amazing idea." Puck grins and sees the other team warming up. "Look at those girls from Vegas. God, so hot."

Mike returns holding the necks of three beer bottles in one hand and pretzels in the other. "Dude, there are children here! Isn't that a bit fucked up? They're encouraging them to go home and masturbate to the thoughts of girls tackling each other."

"I would've been here every game at their age if I knew about it." Puck grabs a beer and pretzel, passing it down to Finn without even looking to see if the guy grabbed them.

"Puck, you're disgusting." Finn mumbles, biting into his pretzel. "Hey, where's the mustard?"

"Go get your own damn mustard man. That's nasty." Mike takes a pull from his beer and stares at the girls warming up.

The lights in the stadium dim down and lights begin to dance around. "Ladies and gentlemen! Let's welcome our very own LA Temptation! You're starting quarterback, number 5, Santana Lopez!"

Santana runs out, waving with her helmet under her left arm. Her pictures comes up on a screen with all her stats. The guys bite back a groan as she takes her place on the field and turns towards the entrance to wait for the rest of her teammates.

"Wide receiver, number 20, Rachel Berry!" Puck looks at the screen and sees a girl with chocolate brown eyes, brown curly locks and a Star of David hanging off her neck. He groans and his pants feel instantly tighter. Rachel runs out, blowing kisses and legs that stretch for days. She looks tiny standing next to Santana as the two girls hug.

"Oh my God."

Finn looks at Puck then punches him in the arm. "You're drooling."

"She's a wet dream. And they're hugging, c'mon." He waves down towards the field.

Both guys laugh at him and watch as the rest of the team is introduced and come onto the field next to the other two girls.

The second half of the game, down to the last few minutes, their team is tied at 7-7. All of them were quite surprised that they didn't have field goals, but instead the chance of doing one or two point conversions. The guys are being loud and obnoxious, cheering as the Asian girl tackles a girl a blonde on the other team. Mike cheers for her a little more loudly than the others. On the next snap, the same girl intercepts the ball and runs towards their end zone until she's tackled. It's the last few seconds of the game now. Santana and Rachel put on their helmets and run towards the field. Santana hikes the football and kills a few seconds before she spots Rachel near the five yard line. There's literally no one covering her.

"Damn she's fast!" Finn points to Rachel. "THROW THE DAMN BALL!"

Puck laughs, holding his hand to his stomach. "Not a bad idea now huh?"

Then he watches as Santana throws it gracefully, like time has slowed down. The ball lands into Rachel's hands and she runs to the end zone just as the final seconds tick away. She throws down the ball and breaks the tie, leaving it 12-7. She runs towards Santana, stripping off her helmet while the Latina does the same.

"Nice catch Berry!" Santana catches Rachel while the small girl jumps on her then wraps her legs around her waist.

"Nice throw!" Rachel cups her face and gives her a big kiss like they usually do when something big like this happens.

"Holy shit." Puck and Finn mumble while Mike whistles loudly then pulls out his phone to take a picture.

"They do signings after the Games. We should stay." Mike looks at them and they nod in agreement.

* * *

><p>Rachel loves signing things for fans. Usually her, Santana and Brittany take pictures together, being the stars of the team, but today they pull in Tina. They're all smiling brightly for a picture when the guys walk up.<p>

"Got anything for us to sign boys?" Rachel smiles at them.

"Um, no…" Finn replies sheepishly, a lopsided grin on his face.

Santana looks between all of them, then she leans forward and grab's Finn's hand, signing a number into his palm. "What's your name?"

"Finn." He looks at her confused as she continues to write.

"We're going out after we're done here. Come find me." She winks then looks over at a little boy.

Mike slaps his hand on Finn's shoulder then leads him away to the side to talk about what just happened while Puck stands in front of the small brunette.

"You going too? He looks her up and down.

"Of course." She smiles and signs the same poster that Santana had for the little boy. Rachel looks at him and she thinks he looks familiar but she can't put her finger on it.

"Mm, good. I'll make sure my buddy over there finds you guys."

She smiles coyly. "I'll see you later then." He turns to leave, but she grabs his arm. A little shock runs through them both, but she pulls back her arm instantly. "Wait a minute." He raises an eyebrow and looks into her eyes. Suddenly she feels nervous to ask. "You look familiar?" It was meant to be a statement but came out as a question.

"Do I?" He smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. Rachel stares at his arm muscles then how buff his chest looks under his v-neck shirt.

"Yes, have we met before?" Her eyes snapping back up to his.

"Don't think so sweetheart." There's some commotion as a girl points over to him. "I need to get going."

"I'll see you later then, right?" Why does she sound so needy?

He winks at her. "Yeah, we'll make sure of it." The man saunters off and she stares at his back.

"You two should hook up, he's so sexy." Santana admires his ass, but then he looks over his shoulder while his is back facing the girl that was pointing, and smirks that he caught them looking.

Rachel blushes. "You know I don't do that."

Santana sighs and signs one last thing then sits on the table. "Things with Matt are over. He moved weeks ago. You're 22 and hot as hell. You need to relax. Have some fun that doesn't involve your vibrator." Rachel shushes her and looks around. "He looks like a guy who could fix that right up for you."

She looks over at the guy again. He's laughing with his friends as they walk towards the door. "Maybe, you're right."

The taller girl jumps off the table and looks up to the roof. "I am right. And it's a miracle that you even said those words! Let's go get you looking sexy." Santana grabs Rachel's arms and drags her towards the locker room.

Puck looks back at the tables before they exit the door and sees that they're gone. He's a bit disappointed, but something about Rachel makes him want to see her real soon. In a setting that involves her naked and on his bed.

Once they're outside and walking towards Mike's car, he looks to Finn. "You better call that number once we get inside."

"What?" Finn looks down at his hand and the loopy writing.

_To Finn, call me. Santana_ xo

"Did you see how hot those two were?" Mike asks looking at Finn like he's grown another head.

"Well, yeah." His eyebrows furrow together.

"Then call them!" Puck opens the door of the front seat and sits down.

"Hey, I called shotgun when we got outside!"

Puck turns around in the seat and glares at his best friend."I don't give a fuck."

* * *

><p>Rachel is pulling up her boots over her calves when Santana's phone rings. The girl shrugs and taps her screen.<p>

"Hello?" Rachel smiles and pulls on her jacket. "Couldn't wait to see us huh?" There's arguing on the other side of the phone and her eyebrows raise up in concern. "Yeah sure I know where that is, we'll meet you there."

"Was that the guy you gave your number to? The tall one?"

"Yep. Leave your shit here. We can take a cab to the bar."

She hesitates, looking at her friend before grabbing her wallet and keys, locking her locker. "Let's go then."

When they get to the bar both girls go to the bar to order a drink. Apple cider beer for Rachel, regular beer for Santana. Santana scans the room and notices the taller man waving at them. She nudges Rachel's ribs, the smaller girl looking over at them, then walk over. They strip off their jackets and she sits next to Finn while Rachel sits in between her and Puck.

She looks around at all of them. "I never caught your names."

Finn holds out his hand. "I'm Finn, that's Puck and the Asian is Mike."

Santana laughs. "Well you probably know both of ours after tonight."

Puck looks at Rachel. She's slipping off her jacket, revealing a white deep v-neck t shirt, extremely short black shorts and black leather boots. He wants those wrapped around his waist. A blush is coming up on her chest and he looks up at her. She sips her beer and looks from him to Mike.

"So what do you guys do?"

"I'm a choreographer. I just got done working on a movie but I'm going to be on Dancing with the Stars next season. I have my own studio as well." He smiles.

"That's very impressive." She beams then looks to Finn.

He just took a pull from his beer and wipes his lip with the back of his hand. "Agent. Both of theirs actually." Finn nods to Puck and Mike.

"Wait, what do you do? You a dancer too?" Santana turns to Puck.

She's trying not to laugh because she can't even imagine this guy dancing. Looking him over, she sees that he's really sexy. Shaved down hair, hazel green eyes, built pretty well and a bit shorter than Finn, tan skin. After looking at him, she takes in all their appearances. Mike is a little paler than Puck but not as white as Finn, dark hair like hers that's got a bit of gel in it, not built like Puck but definitely has dancer muscles. She'd guess that he has at least a six puck under his shirt. Finn is the tallest of the three, brown hair and eyes, he's got some muscle but looks like the average all American guy.

"I'm an actor and I'm starting to work into being a producer." He shrugs.

Santana nearly chokes on her beer. "Is your last name Puckerman?"

"Yeah?" He takes a pull from his drink.

"That's why you look familiar!" Rachel lightly slams down her beer, her eyes wide and bright. "I just watched a movie with you in it. What was it called? Some kind of action one…" She bites her bottom lip and thinks really hard. Santana just checks him out then squints her eyes.

"Don't think too hard." He smirks.

"Oh, I can't remember the name. Oh well. " She sighs and picks up her beer.

"Aren't you a little young to be a producer?" Santana stares at him with her eyes narrowed.

"Well it's not like I'm some big shot like Steven Spielberg or Jerry Bruckheimer. I'm just trying to find small movies that I think could be really great. And I'm only 26. I have time." He winks at her.

"Right." She turns back to Mike and Finn.

Puck looks to Rachel. "So, the number 20 and wide receiver happen to be mine too. Guess we have something in common."

Rachel looks at him a little shocked. "Really?"

"Yep. High school and college."

"Where did you play?"

"Ohio State."

"My dad went there!"

He looks at her and furrows his brows. "Did you live in Ohio before moving out here?"

"Nope. New York. I went to NYU and I was actually playing flag football with some friends in Central Park. Someone from the team saw how fast I could run. Years of dance classes and exercising every morning. Anyways, so I flew out and tried out. My dad actually played on the team at Ohio State so I picked up on everything easily from watching games with him."

"That's so hot." He takes a pull from his beer. This girl can talk a lot, but he didn't mind it for some reason. Finding out how she ended up here and playing football in sexy lingerie wasn't the worse thing he could be hearing about right now.

"What about your job? It sounds amazing."

"It takes a lot of work, but yeah I like it."

"Rachel?" She looks over at Santana. "Bathroom?"

"Yeah. Be right back guys."

They walk to the bathroom and Rachel sits on the counter after wiping it down. "What's going on?"

"I want to sleep with Finn."

She blinks a few times at the taller girl and then giggles. "Okay."

"And you should hook up with hot producer." She purses her lips and puts on more lip gloss, smacking them together a few times. Fluffing her hair she looks over to Rachel.

"Maybe. He is really attractive." She hops off the counter then reapplies her lip gloss as well. "Do you think I should?"

"Definitely." Santana leans against the counter. "You won our game tonight and you need to give your toy a break tonight."

"Santana!" Rachel slaps her arm and storms out of the bathroom, headed straight for the bar.

"What are you doing?" She leans against the bar and tries to look Rachel in the eye as she waits for her order.

"We're going to have fun and I'm going to need liquid courage if I want to go home with him tonight." She smiles brightly as the bartender walks over. He puts down a bottle of tequila, five shot glasses and lime wedges. He winks at them then walks away.

"I love the way you think."

Santana sets down the tray on the table and take their seats again. Finn's eyes widen slightly.

"Wow, what is all that for?"

"We're celebrating our win!" Rachel licks her wrist and shakes salt onto it as Santana pours them all a shot. The guys follow her lead.

"To Rachel and Santana." Puck toasts and they all clink their glasses together taking their first shot easily.

"Any way we could get a recap of that kiss from earlier?" Puck looks at the two girls.

"I don't think we're drunk enough for that." Rachel blushes and Santana just laughs at her friends response.

"If Brittany was here she'd have no problem with doing that Rach." Rachel glares at her friends while the guys stare questioningly. "She's our best player on defense. Some wedding in San Diego with family pulled her away from the game today. Mike, you'd probably like her. She usually dances after the season is over."

"What kind of dancing has she done?"

"Backup dancer on tours. She's really great. If you come to our next home game you two could meet." Rachel smiles.

"Wait, next home game?" Finn cuts in and leans on the table.

"Yeah, our game next week is in Orlando. We leave on Wednesday." The girls fill up another shot and clink their glasses together before downing them. "The three of us are going to stay until Sunday though.

"Orlando huh?" Puck leans back against his chair. He's imagining them in bikinis on the beach, sipping margaritas. Suddenly, he wants to be there. Sex on the beach with Rachel? That would definitely work for him if he could get her to one. No. Wanting to fly to Orlando to have sex with some girl? Puck picks up the bottle to make sure he hasn't drank some worm that is making him have crazy thoughts. Everyone looks at him oddly so he pours himself a shot then takes it.

"Yeah. I'm going to drag San to Disney World."

Santana scoffs and finishes off her beer. "How fun can it be? Giant cartoon animals walking around, scaring little kids. Then all the guys probably want to bang the Princesses that walk around. Please."

Finn's eyes widen and he turns towards the taller girl. "Disney is amazing! There's rides, lots of food like everywhere, Mickey ear hats, and they have alcohol in the different worlds."

Mike and Puck blink at him. "Dude… calm down. You're embarrassing us."

"No! I understand exactly what you mean Finn. It's so much fun." Rachel defends him and glares at the two guys.

"Fuck, why don't they just come and you can all show us how much fun it can be." Her friend looks at her, wide eyes and a look that's asking if she's actually serious.

"There's a Disney place in California you know." Puck looks to Finn pointedly.

"But the one in Orlando is different. They even have the American Idol experience. I was in Glee club in high school, so it'd be so much fun to go on stage and perform all over again. Plus we could get you into the game for free." Rachel adds in as if getting into a lingerie football game could make or break their minds.

Santana watches the table and leans back against her chair. Granted she was the one who just spit out that they should come,her best friend is a nice person but she likes these guys. Even if she doesn't hook up with Finn, she could see them being a small little group. It's usually just the three of them hanging out with the team or sitting at home. Brittany and her will go to the clubs but Rachel isn't usually this spontaneous. She likes it. Then she wonders if it's Puck bringing it out or the tequila. Probably a mixture of both.

Mike looks skeptical about the entire thing and Puck looks like he's having an internal debate. Which seems weird for the little bit that she knows about the guy. Puck looks like he has one night stands, not relationships. But seeing the way that he looks at Rachel, she thinks there could be something more to it. She's protective over the smaller girl so this trip could actually show if he could be good enough for her friend. She glances at Finn out of the corner of her eye and the guy just looks like he really wants to go to Disney World.

Puck just keeps getting more impressed by this girl. Not only does she run around in lingerie for a job, she can sing. He needs to witness this. He can't believe he's about to suggest this, but Finn did just get out of a break up and he knows how much the guy loves Disney World. "Finn, I know you said you didn't want to go on a vacation, but since they're offering for us to come to another game, _for free,_ what do you say about going down to Orlando?"

Mike coughs and chokes on his beer. Rachel looks at him worried. "Are you okay Mike?" The guy nods and excuses himself, dragging Puck with him.

Finn looks at his friends walking then back towards the girls. "Are you serious about us wanting to go to Orlando? We just met."

Santana shrugs. "What harm could it do? It could be fun and we're all adults. If we all end up not wanting to be around each other, it's not like we can't just walk away."

At the bar, Mike is staring at Puck. "Seriously?"

"They're hot. Can you imagine them at Disney World and if we could get them to go to the beach? It could be fun."

"I know we're all getting along but you never do this much effort to get with a girl." He points out.

"Like I said. They're hot, plus giant over there just broke up with Quinn. He needs something fun to do. When was the last time we all got to go on vacation somewhere together?" He looks at Mike while he thinks about it. "Spring break. In college."

Mike still isn't sure about it all. It is a good point about Finn just getting out of his relationship. Orlando is a good safe distance from Hawaii and LA, there shouldn't be any signs of Quinn there. But it was all last minute. Puck and Finn have the time off, but Mike still had his studio. He groans and runs a hand over his face.

"C'mon Mike. I'll pay for your tickets."

The Asian looks at him. Paying for his tickets? His eyebrows shoot up. Fuck yeah. Puck usually never offers to do any of this. He lets out a sigh. "Fine, I'll see what I can do tomorrow about either cancelling classes or if someone else can pick up mine."

Puck slaps his shoulder and walks back over to the table. "Alright, looks like we'll be going to Orlando." He smirks at the girls. Rachel is surprised but looks happy.

"All this conversation about Disney is boring me." Santana fills up all the shot glasses again. Everyone gets their salt ready.

Santana grabs Rachel's wrist, which shocks all of them and they stop, then she licks the salt off while looking at Finn. The man chokes on his shot, forgetting the lime and chasing it with his beer. Then Rachel grabs the girl's right wrist, and looks at Puck while licking. Santana is laughing because she knows her friend is drunk now. Rachel watches his throat while he takes the shot then licks his lips before he sucks the lime. She does the same. Heat is beginning to pool in between her thighs. Mike coughs awkwardly and takes a second shot quickly.

"It was great to meet you ladies, but I have an early class tomorrow. I'm assuming I'll be seeing you two really soon." He smiles. Rachel gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Mike ignores the slight glare that Puck gives him and hugs her back. Santana blows him a kiss then goes back to rubbing Finn's arm. The guys mumble their goodbyes.

"So how do you guys all know each other?"

"We went to the same high school in Ohio. Played football together there and again at Ohio State." Santana stares at them and makes a disgusted face.

"Ohio?"

Finn perks up at the thought of his hometown."Yeah, It wasn't so bad. Where are you from Santana?"

"Vegas."

Puck slams his beer down a little too hard and gawks at the girl. "Are you serious?"

"Yep." She pops the 'P' and smirks at him.

"Lucky. I went there with Finn and Mike a few years ago. That place is the shit."

"But really hot when we went." Finn frowns. "What about you Rachel?"

"New York." She sits up straighter and begins to tell Finn all about it. He ignores it since he got part of this story anyways.

Santana starts in on how she got a spot on the team and they're all talking about football now. Puck and Finn talk about how shitty their high school team was but they still managed to get on the Ohio State team. They discovered it was fun to actually talk to the girls about it since they got the game. Puck was getting even more turned on when Rachel was talking about stats and her favorite teams.

Rachel finishes off her beer then walks over to the bar to get another. Peeking down at her phone, she notices that it's been a few hours since they got to the bar. It was nearing 1:00 a.m. She's waiting for the bartender to notice her when two large hands appear on either side of her and a very muscular chest is brushing along her back. Her skin feels like it's on fire.

"You didn't ask if I wanted another one." He whispers into her ear.

She looks over her shoulder and is shocked at how close he is. This is when she notices his green eyes as they search hers. "Didn't know I had to ask." She says coyly.

He laughs and as his breath hits her neck, she involuntarily shivers. "I think Finn and Santana are leaving."

Rachel cranes her neck to see Santana waving then pulling Finn's hand towards the door. "Well, I guess that just leaves the two of us." She turns around so her back is leaning against the counter. He looks at her chest then tosses his card on the counter, not looking at the bartender.

"Just put her tab with mine."

She leans forward and brushes her lips against his ear. Her voice is seductive and he can't help but move closer to her. "How can I ever repay you?"

Puck groans and drops his head to her shoulder while inhaling her perfume. The tequila is getting to his head because fuck, she smells amazing. "I live two blocks from here. I can think of plenty of ways you can make it up to me baby."

The bartender hands him a receipt to sign. As he's signing it then putting his wallet back into place, she walks away to grab her things. Puck turns and sees her waiting, a sexy smile appearing on her face. Rachel crooks her finger at him and he walks over to her quickly, putting his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the bar.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Glee or LA Temptation.  
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I'm overwhelmed by the amount of alerts and reviews I got for this yesterday. You guys have really made my day! I worked nearly all day on this to get something to you, since the next chapter will take a lot of work. Check out my other story if you're interested. Thanks a bunch!

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><p>Puck pushes her up against the back of the door once he's got it locked and throwing his keys somewhere towards the kitchen. Rachel lifts up her legs and wrap them around her waist, moaning as he grinds against her center. Her wallet, with her phone securely safe inside, and keys fall the ground. She pulls his face towards her by putting her hands on both of his cheeks. But his hands find the bottom of her shirt desperate to feel her warm skin. However, he notices that her hands have quickly found the bottom of his and is pulling it off him. When did they leave his face? This girl has a mouth that could distract anybody.<p>

Ignoring that he's now shirtless, he needed her to be like five hours ago. Puck notices her jacket is still on, so he pulls on the shirt, ripping it up to the deep v between her breasts. Rachel gasps, pulling away from his lips and looks down at her shirt. Her now hard nipples are there for him to just see. Puck moans at the sight of her breasts and pushes the clothes off her shoulders.

"I'll buy you a new one." He sucks in a nipple, swirling his tongue around before biting it gently. He's instantly rewarded with her grinding into him.

"Oh God." Her head falls back and his the door hard.

"Careful." Puck laughs gently around her peak and sets her on her feet. His hands quickly work on getting her shorts and underwear down in one swift motion then admires her boots. His cock twitches. Time to get them around his waist again.

Rachel runs her hand down his chest, across his abs and the small trail of hair that leads down to the top of his jeans. She starts on his pants as he braces both arms on the door while kissing her. Before they fall to the ground, he grabs his wallet to pluck out a condom then throws that behind him too. She stares at his dick and swallows, getting even more wet. She takes the condom from him and rolls it on. After that, he picks her up again, pushing her up against the door.

He runs his fingers along her slit and inserts a finger. "You are so wet baby." He licks up her neck and bites down on her earlobe gently.

"More," she breathes out then pulls him to kiss her. His tongue traces her lip and she lets him in. If he's this good at kissing, what else can he do with his tongue? His finger pulls out then he adds in another, curling them up. Her head falls against the door again as she grinds onto his hand. "Fuck me already, please!"

His eyebrows shoot up after he pulls away from her. She hasn't said anything close to a cuss word all night. The way she's begging though. Fuck. He wants her bad. Puck kisses her hard as he lines up to enter her. She gasps when he's fully inside. A small noise that he likes comes from her mouth, then he pulls back and slams into her, setting up a fast pace as he kisses her. He barely registers hearing her saying 'harder Puck.' He pulls out slowly and slams back into her harder than he was before.

Puck notices that her head falls back again, but he sucks on her neck and tweaks her nipple with his free hand, the other tightening around her upper thigh. She's gripping his shoulders, most likely leaving nail marks. Once he knows that she's close he moves his hand down and rubs a circle around her clit. He admires her boobs bouncing as he rams into her, panting and begging for more. As he fucks her harder, he begins to worry she might end up having a concussion by the time she comes.

"Right there!" Then she screams his name loudly. Shit, she is vocal and he absolutely loves it.

This sends him over the edge, rubbing her clit until she's coming undone with him following her quickly after. Rachel's head hits the door really hard and her chest is heaving when she finally looks down at him. Puck smirks at her then leans forward to suck her nipple into his mouth. She tightens her thighs and comes again.

"God you're sexy." He pulls out and she whines.

Puck carries her into the bathroom so she can clean up. He points to where his room is once he puts her down on wobbly legs then lays on the bed after tossing the condom away. He couldn't believe how tight she was. Her tits fit into his hand perfectly. _Fuck._ He's hard again. His eyes close and a few seconds later he feels bare legs straddle his waist. No more leather boots. With his eyes still closed, he runs his hands up her legs which feel like they will never end. She leans forward and licks her way up to his nipple, swirling her tongue around it and bringing out a moan from him. He lets out a shaky breath and flips them over so he's on top.

"I wanna taste you." He looks into her chocolate brown eyes and licks his lips.

Her mouth opens slightly as her eyes get darker. Puck smirks at her and kisses her lips then kisses his way down the valley of her breasts, licking around her belly button. "Puck please." She whines, pushing his head down. His breath sweeps over her hip bone as he laughs. Puck licks up her center, circling her clit with his tongue. He feels her thighs tighten as she moans. "You taste so good Rachel." She looks down at him as he fucks her with his tongue.

They spend the rest of the night, exploring each other's bodies until they're both so tired that they pass out. She doesn't cuddle with him, her muscles are tired from her game and everything that Puck did to her. But when she wakes up and stretches, her body screams at her from being overworked. She groans and tries to sit up.

"Going somewhere?" His voice is muffled by the pillow.

"I do need to leave soon." He makes a protesting noise and pulls her back, kissing up her jaw.

"Alright."

"However, I do need a shower. Is it okay if I take one?"

Puck stops, letting his mouth linger on her jaw. He's never let a girl stay the night before, even if Rachel did pass out because of the three or four rounds of sex they had, but now she wanted to take a shower? She was the perfect girl, into sports (she likes baseball too, he found that out last night at the bar) and comfortable enough with her body to play lingerie football. Rachel is Jewish, so that would no doubt make his mom ecstatic, plus Santana was pretty cool too. From what he learned about her, she's like his twin but in girl form. There isn't a doubt in his mind that one constant girl being seen with him in public could help his image too.

"Yeah, you know where the bathroom is. I think there's some stuff from when my sister visited under the sink. Towels are under there too."

Rachel smiles and pecks his cheek. "You have a sister?" He nods. "I guess there's still a lot I need to learn about you before this trip." She gets up quickly and half runs to the bathroom. He laughs because he knows her body pretty well after the night they just had.

The trip. He completely forgot that he suggested that they all go to Florida to hang out with her and Santana. This is the complete opposite of what he usually does. He's busy getting rid of girls, not voluntarily going on vacation with them. But he thinks of Finn and Mike. It's been a long time since Mike has gotten to go anywhere that wasn't for work and Finn finally got rid of Quinn. He cringes at how their names rhyme. They all need a trip away to forget her.

Puck goes to take a shower when she's done. He's rubbing shampoo over his head when he hears the door open.

"Puck?" Rachel voice comes in.

"Yep?"

"Do you have an undershirt or something I could wear? It's a bit warm outside and I don't want to wear my jacket."

"Yeah, just give me a minute babe."

"Okay." The door shuts quietly.

He laughs at how shy she sounded and quickly shutting off the water after rinsing. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he goes to his room and sees Rachel sitting on the bed looking through her phone. Her jacket is on but not zipped up. He moves over to his dresser and pulls out a white muscle shirt and tosses it to her. Puck's ready to take her right now, just from seeing the curve of her breasts underneath it.

"Oh! Thank you." She smiles and pulls off her jacket.

When he turns back around after grabbing a pair of gym shorts, she has it to where it's fitted around her body with the back of it tied off with her elastic hair tie then tucked under. She smiles at him and grabs her jacket and phone to let him get ready.

Puck puts on the shorts then follows her into the kitchen. She's drinking from a glass of water and he zeroes in on the little bit of skin that's on her back. His hand reaches out and he sees that goosebumps form on her arms. He bends down and kisses up her neck to her ear.

"You look amazing." Her hair is drying into waves, smelling like strawberries.

"Thank you." She grinds back into him feeling how hard he is.

She puts the glass down and turns around, wrapping both arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. Rachel licks his lip and pushes her tongue into his mouth. He pulls her over near the door so he can lean her up against the wall. She doesn't give him the chance though. His hand is against the wall as she sinks down to her knees. Puck puts his other hand up against the wall. His shorts pooling on the ground and he moans when her hand wraps around his shaft. He looks down and she licks her tongue up and swirls around the tip. Rachel keeps eye contact when she takes him into her mouth. His nails lightly scratch the wall as she takes him down until he hits the back of her throat.

"Holy shit." He looks down at her and holds back from just fucking her mouth until he comes.

Rachel hums and it sends vibrations down to his balls. She cups him gently and he knows he is going to release soon. He runs his hand through her hair then tugs gently. "Rach, I'm really close."

But somehow, his dick gets further down her throat and when she swallows, he's almost, _almost_ embarrassed that he isn't lasting long at all. Rachel swallows every last drop that leaves his body, licking the tip to make sure that she got it all. He barely pulls up his shorts when she moves away to grab her things.

Puck is still catching his breath when Rachel kisses his jaw. "I guess I'll see you later?" He nods absentmindedly. "Bye Puck."

He watches as she leaves out the door. Once it closes, he goes to start some coffee. His door opens again and he looks over to see Mike staring at him.

"Sup?"

The guy leans against the counter in the kitchen and eyes his friend up and down. Puck is breathing heavily with a bit of sweat on his forehead. "How was the sex?"

Puck looks at him oddly and cautiously starts to talk. "Amazing. Why?" He goes back to his coffee but then puts the cup down. "Wait, how did you even know I got her home?"

"Because when I was in the kitchen getting some water in the middle of the night, I hear loud banging coming from the hallway. So I look out and see that there's no one around." Puck blinks at him. "Now, the walls here are pretty thick and I usually don't hear any of my neighbors, but last night when I'm _trying_ to sleep, I hear someone's bed banging against the wall. And I hear moaning and screaming "Puck" so loud that I had to go sleep on my couch."

Mike looks at his best friend as he starts to laugh really hard to the point where he has tears streaming down and his body hunched over. Finn walks in and sees this sight.

"What's going on?"

"I was just telling Puck here why I was so fucking tired this morning. I ended my class early just so I could come home to sleep."

"Dude, I'm sorry, but holy shit." Puck looks at him with his eyebrows raised. "You have to know what I mean."

"Whatever, just move your damn bed if you plan on sleeping with her again. Which I assume you will be cause I saw how you were looking at her all night."

"Looking at who like what?" He picks up the cup again and pours coffee into it.

"C'mon man. You are willingly going to Florida and Disney World to hang around this chick." Finn cuts in, making him and Mike a cup then moving to the living room. "Plus she has the Jewish thing going on for your mom."

Puck sits in the armchair, his leg going over the side while the other plants on the floor, leaning back and drinking in his coffee. He sighs contently then scoffs. "Whatever don't bring my ma into this, it was just sex. Quinn is gone and we all need a fucking stress free vacation. We need to figure out all that shit anyways."

The guys back off because they know he'll just figure it out on his own time. Mike pulls up Puck's laptop from the coffee table. "Alright, so how do we want to do this?"

"Let Finn do it, he knows about that kind of shit and he can call Santana to iron out the details. But make sure we go to the beach."

Mike hands Finn the laptop and they get to work on planning their vacation.

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><p>Rachel walks into their condo but doesn't find anyone in the kitchen. She sets her purse down on the table by the front door and turns to the right down the tiny hallways towards the living room. The TV above the fireplace is on so she walks towards the master bedroom that's Santana's.<p>

They couldn't really afford anywhere in the city, so Santana's parents bought a condo and let the girls live there for free. It was a great deal on her parents part, there was a pool downstairs along with a grill and a little garage where they could park their cars along with the other people in the building. They are on the second floor out of four.

She knocks on the door and opens it to find Santana on the phone, typing on her laptop. "Hey San."

The girl turns and looks at her, smirking at her appearance. "Hold on Finn." Rachel's eyes widen as she sits on the fluffy white comforter behind Santana's chair. She admires the freshly painted black walls from a few weeks ago and dark wood accents that she has around the room. "Where have you been?"

Rachel just blushes and ignores the question. "So are you guys trying to plan out the trip?"

The girl finally figures out that she spent the night at Puck's and seeing how she's wearing a different shirt, she can put the pieces together. "You dirty girl!" Santana grins and moves over to the bed, forgetting about the phone being covered by her shoulder. "Do tell."

The light is streaming in through her cream colored curtains and all she has on is a white lamp on the desk. The light is hitting Santana's face, showing that her eyebrows are raised questioningly. Rachel loves how the room is black and white with only a few red accents. She shakes her head and sits up, crossing her legs, knowing she already killed a little time by admiring her friend's room. She bites her lip and smiles.

"Oh my God. How many times did you do it?" Santana asks seriously.

"Once against the door and two times in his room." Rachel laughs at her friend's face.

"Is he good?" Santana scoots in closer to Rachel, looking into her eyes when she hears a muffled voice coming from her shoulder. "Oh shit, sorry Finn." She shrugs at Rachel. Santana moves back to the desk to finish talking to him about where they're staying so the guys can make appropriate reservations. She looks back to Rachel and mouths 'later.'

She rolls her eyes and grabs her boots to walk into her room which is down the hall and across from Brittany's. Her room is light yellow with all white furniture. She wanted it to feel a little warm and beachy with some country accents. The complete opposite from New York. Rachel pulls off Puck's shirt, which smells like him still, and throws it on her blue and yellow quilt.

Once she changes into cotton shorts and an LA Temptation t-shirt, she grabs her laptop from her nightstand and begins to check her email. Out of the corner of her eye she sees that Brittany walked into her own room. Pushing her laptop away from herself she walks over to the blonde's room. Rachel always wanted to fix up her room the way Brittany did.

When she enters the room, there's a wall with the windows on it, to the right a closet with sliding doors and mirrors covering them. The bed is next to the door with a nightstand and that wall has light blue wallpaper with pink roses on it. The rest of the walls are a light blue. Her furniture is also white. Both of them having a small vanity underneath the windows. Rachel's room is the same but everything is opposite.

"Hey Britt." Rachel smiles and sits on the chair in the corner of the room. It's usually for her vanity but since their rooms are smaller, they set them in the corner for any company who wants to sit.

"Rachel! I didn't even know you were home. I guess I probably should've checked though." She shrugs and throws her dirty clothes into her hamper in the closet. One side has shelves for shoes, the other side has enough room for a basket on the ground or a small hamper underneath the clothes. "What is Santana doing? I heard talking coming from her room."

"Talking to Finn. We met him and two guys after the game. They're really nice. I think they're going to fly to Orlando for our game and hang out with us."

Brittany faces Rachel with a confused look on her face. "Really? Usually you get like a complete identity check before you do anything like that."

"Yeah. Weird, I know. But you'll really like them. And I'm not that crazy about strangers." Rachel smiles as Brittany's cat appears from underneath the bed. "Hey tub." She pets the top of the cats head and he meows at her. "Finn is an agent for Puck and Mike. They're all on vacation, well sort of."

The blonde sits on top of the bed and pulls the chubby cat into her lap. "Okay then. I trust you two. Congrats on the win by the way!"

"Tina was actually really good, but I missed you." Rachel leans back into the chair and puts her head against the wall. Puck really made her tired.

Brittany laughs. "You better have. I can't wait to get back on the field though." She runs through the list she has in her head of what she has to do before their away game. "Is it my turn to clean the bathroom?"

"No, it's mine. I'll get to that later. I'm just so tired."

They both shared a bathroom that had a large shower in the corner that could probably fit three people in it easily. It has a large shelf and a bench in it! Along with a long countertop with two sinks. Santana's bathroom was included in the large bedroom that looked exactly like theirs, but she easily had more makeup and products than the other two so she needed all the counter space that she could get.

Santana walks in and lays down on the bed. "Hey Britt." The blonde smiles at her then goes back to petting the cat. "I think they have everything squared away. Disney the first day, we'll have Thursday off but like always we can't do anything so I think we can do the spa while they entertain themselves, Friday is the game that night, then Saturday we'll drive down to Miami and fly out Sunday. I spoke with Will and told him we won't be flying back with the rest of the team. He said it was fine."

"We're going to Disney?" Brittany looks between the two really excitedly.

"Yes. Santana has never gone." Rachel looks over at the Latina sweetly.

"So tell me about these guys."

Santana looks to Rachel. "Well we already know that Rachel has done the nasty with Puck."

"Santana! How about we start with you since you were making bedroom eyes with Finn the moment you saw him. Did you two sleep together?"

She looks down. "Actually, no. When we got back to his apartment, which by the way they all live on the same hallway, I walked in and saw that it was completely trashed."

Rachel gasps while Brittany just looks between the two. "Why?"

"He broke up with his girlfriend the night before the game. They took him out to have some fun. But he forgot that she was throwing shit because he slept in Puck's guest room." She shrugs. "I helped him clean up and then we just sat on the couch and talked."

"Do you think you might actually like him?"

"Maybe. But he just got out of a year and a half long relationship. It'll be awhile before anything happens so I'm fine with just being friends for now." She flicks off a piece of lint off Brittany's comforter. "He's really nice."

Rachel puts her hand over her heart. "Santana, has the powerful Oz finally given you a heart?"

The dark hair girl grabs a pillow and throws it at Rachel. "I'm the only one who gets to be a sarcastic bitch around here! I've always had a heart, I just like one stand stands better." She shrugs and looks at her nails.

Rolling her eyes she looks to Brittany. "You'll like Mike, Britt. He's a dancer too."

"Really?" She sits up straighter and her cat jumps off the bed to go somewhere else in the condo.

"Mhm, he's really cute too."

"At least I can talk to him about dancing things now. Or if he knows of any good studios."

Santana smirks and figures she'll just let Mike tell her himself that he owns one. Rachel looks at the Latina then back at Brittany. "How was the wedding?"

"Boring. For some reason, they didn't want any alcohol. So there was barely any dancing and you'd think the groomsmen would be available but none of them were hot."

"Fuck that, why didn't you just come home early?"

Brittany looks at Santana. "The hotel room was really nice. And my mom paid for us to go to the spa really early this morning." She shrugs.

Rachel yawns and stretches, her muscles screaming at her from all the sex the night before. "I'm going to go take a nap."

Santana laughs as Rachel walks out the door. "You still need to tell us about your night!" Once she hears Rachel's door close, she sits up and looks to Brittany. "I think we should invite them over for dinner tonight so that you can get to know them before the trip. Plus I want to see Puck and Rachel together again." Brittany nods then they run to Santana's room to call Finn.

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><p>Hours later, Rachel wakes up and walks out to the living room rubbing her eyes. "San? Britt?"<p>

She can hear pans clinking around in the kitchen and that the TV is on. It sounds like some kind of sports game is on the TV, but when she finally looks up she sees Finn, Mike and Puck staring at her. She looks down, turns red and screams. "SANTANA! Why didn't you wake me up?" Rachel turns around and runs to her room, slamming the door shut.

Santana laughs along with Brittany while Puck gets up and walks to the room where the door just shut. He opens it slightly and sees Rachel in shorts with her bare back to him. Puck shuts the door and sits on her bed.

"Nice room." She looks over her shoulder to him. He brings out a crazy, sexual deprived side of her and she can't explain why. Maybe it's just been too long since anyone has looked at her the way he does.

Her ex boyfriend Matt got a job offer in North Carolina but their relationship was already rocky. They decided to just end it and remain friends. It had been months since she had sex since Matt was working hard all the time. He worked in the studios in Hollywood, but thought working in Wilmington's smaller film studios would be better for him so he could get promotions. Rachel refused to give up her spot on the team and leave her best friends.

"Thanks." He watches as she buttons up her shirt then sits down next to him.

Puck lays down then pulls her over so she's straddling him. "Got time for a quickie?" He wiggles his eyebrows. She laughs and pushes at his chest.

"Santana is going to be expecting us to do that." Looking down at his lips, she licks her own. "I don't know what is about you."

He pushes her hair behind her ear. "What about me?"

"That makes me want to just jump on you." Rachel grinds against him a little bit then stands up. "I'm hungry."

Puck groans and stands up, following her out of the room. He lays back down on the white couch that is up against the bar of the kitchen while Finn is sitting in the love seat by the patio door and Mike sits in the oversized arm chair opposite of the loveseat. The living room is a bit on the small size, but the furniture somehow makes it work so that they're all facing the TV above the fireplace. He actually likes this condo and how the girls decorated it. He watches as Rachel moves through the small hall behind Mike to go into the kitchen. He hears Rachel whispering harshly to Santana and he laughs.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were inviting them over? I could've at least gotten ready!" She whispers and punches Santana's arm.

"Ow! What the fuck Rach?" She rubs her arm while Brittany is cutting up vegetables. "You were asleep since you said you were _so tired _and I didn't want Brittany to have to try and get to know them on the trip when we all bonded at the bar." She shrugs.

"Could you lower your voice! Please?" Rachel gets on her toes to look over the counter at the guys. "Do you need any help? What are you making?"

"Salad and pizza." Santana waves her hand dismissively. "And we don't need your help." She smirks.

"And breadsticks!" Brittany adds in smiling.

Rachel glares at her best friends and stomps into the living room, walking around the loveseat to plop down on the couch. Puck barely had enough time to move his feet. All the guys look at her then back into the kitchen seeing that the blonde and brunette are laughing.

"I hate you guys!" Rachel huffs out and sinks further into the couch.

"What's wrong?" Finn looks over at her, tearing his eyes away from the baseball game.

"They're just being…mean." She bites back the cuss word that she really wants to call them.

Mike looks over at Finn and shrugs. They start to watch the game again and talk about the different things that are going on while Rachel sits there with a frown on her face.

"Hey Rach, you want bacon on the pizza?"

"Yep." She says curtly and pulls her feet up on the couch.

"You're such a bad Jew." Puck laughs.

She turns towards him and glares. "I try to keep it kosher, but I need the protein from the workouts we do. If I didn't I'd probably pass out. But with the game yesterday, I usually eat a lot more the day after."

"It was just a joke. I eat it all the time." He shrugs. "I'm Jewish too. And I have some protein you can have." He winks at her.

Rachel smiles brightly but then she looks at him with an appalled face. "Must you make disgusting jokes like that?" She turns back to the TV. Puck looks over at her and wonders why he loves it when she smiles like that at him. He shakes his head and looks back at the baseball game. Brittany and Santana are looking over the counter watching the two together, they're smiling thinking that Puck might be feeling something a bit more than just sex for Rachel.

"Hey Finn, can you grab the chairs from outside and put them at the table?" Santana calls over her shoulder while she takes out the pizzas.

"Sure." He stands up then brings them in by the table where everyone gathered around. Beers and plates are sitting there too.

"It's been a long time since I've eaten at a table with people." Mike stares down at everything.

"Shit looks good." Puck sits down in a chair next to Rachel.

They spend the entire time eating and telling Brittany what she missed the night before when they were all getting to know each other. Brittany would jump in from time to time putting in her story when the guys were talking about how Santana and Rachel were telling them where she was from and how she got on the team. She lived in LA her whole life, going to dancing classes. She tried out for a talent show that would be aired on TV. Brittany got pretty far and that's how she got picked to go on as a backup dancer on tours. But one day she went to an LFL game and instantly fell in love it. She was a cheerleader in high school like Santana so she was already fit enough to be on the team. The next time they had tryouts, she went and they loved how fast she could move. Santana and Rachel both vouched for her saying they liked working with her when they were helping. Soon after all the girls became really close.

After dinner, they all went into the living room and Mike pulls a scary movie out from their DVDs. Puck is lying on the couch and pulled Rachel into his side. Finn and Santana claimed the loveseat, leaving Brittany and Mike to squish together in the oversized armchair. Santana used the excuse that Finn was so much bigger that they wouldn't be able to fit whereas their dancer bodies would. Almost halfway through the movie, Rachel had situated herself to where she was lying against Puck's side with her head on his chest but she was basically straddling his thigh and pulled the blanket over them since she was 'cold'. Her hand moves down his chest to the top of his pants.

Puck looks down at her with an eyebrow raised. She smiles and blinks at him innocently, unbuttoning his jeans and moving her hand into them just to find that he's not wearing any boxers. His grip on her hip tightens as she wraps her hand around his length, instantly making him hard. Puck glances around and no one can see what she's doing. His head falls back, trying hard not to moan as she pumps him faster. He breathes in sharply when her hand leaves him to push his shirt up a little bit, her fingertips trailing down his abs back down to his dick.

He gets extremely lucky that something is about to happen on TV, because Rachel disappears under the blanket right as he comes. He can feel her tongue licking it all up then covering over his length to clean it up more. "Holy shit!" He half yells, which causes her to freeze and subtly move back up while everyone else turns and stares at him. "Why the fuck is she going upstairs? Everyone knows that's such a stupid thing to do." He mumbles out fast, still trying to recover. They all laugh while Santana just stares at him with her eyes narrowed. "It's okay Rachel, don't be scared." He laughs and maneuvers his arm so it looks like he's covering her face.

Santana is still looking at him before she goes back to putting her feet underneath Finn's thigh, his arm automatically curling around her left knee. Puck lets out a breath before he pulls her head up and whispers into her ear. "You're going to pay for that."

"Like I said, I don't know what it is about you." She smiles.

Puck grins and pulls her so that she's laying between his legs after he zips up his jeans. The blanket is pulled up and he wraps his arms around her so that his forearms are over her chest, hugging her to him. Santana glances at them to see if they're doing anything under the blanket, but he knows that it _looks_ innocent enough.

"You're going to touch yourself." He whispers into her ear.

"What?" She looks up at him. But his pointed gaze and raised eyebrow is making her horny so she just listens to him and moves her hand down into her shorts.

He settles down a little more into the couch so he can set his mouth right by her ear. Licking the outside of her ear, he drops his voice down an octave and whispers. "You like that don't you?" Puck barely hears her moan of approval. "Press on your clit baby. Think of my tongue fucking you." He feels her arm moving faster.

Rachel can't help but feel dirty for doing this in the same room as everyone else, but she loves it. Puck is whispering some really filthy things into her ear and she can't help but want to drag him into her room and just have her way with him. Heat is flooding into her cheeks and she can't believe that someone can get under her skin like this. Rachel barely knows this man but she just wants more. This sends her over the edge and she bites her lip hard to not make any noise as she comes over her fingers.

He's in the middle of saying something dirty when she comes unexpectedly, shaking in his arms. He's shocked but he just bites her ear and says that she's really hot when she's trying to be quiet. It's not long before she falls asleep even though they're still watching the movie.

When it ends, Finn looks at his watch and sees that it's around midnight. Santana is half asleep, leaning against his shoulder and he looks to see that Brittany and Rachel are both passed out. "Hey Santana, can you show Mike where Brittany's room is so he can put her into bed?"

Santana gets up and leads them to Brittany's room and Mike lays her down while she pulls the blanket over the blonde's legs. They close her door after the cat runs in, which none of the guys knew was even around the apartment. Puck and Rachel are still on the couch, him running his hand up and down her arm while watching sports highlights.

"Is he always like that?" Santana whispers, pulling them into Rachel's room when Puck wasn't looking.

"No." Finn says and looks at her. "But maybe we should interfere on vacation if he doesn't make a move." He shrugs.

Mike nods in agreement and looks around the room, eyes landing on the bed. "Well I'm tired. I had a really early morning and I barely got any sleep."

Santana looks at him with concerned eyes. She may not have known these guys more than 48 hours, but it already feels like they're a little family. "Why?"

"Well you know that I live next door to Puck. Well my room is next to his and Rachel is kind of…vocal. I've never heard any noise through the walls in our building before."

She laughs and falls onto the bed. "Oh God. I'm going to make fun of her for that one. But thanks for coming over and getting to know Britt you guys. She was really worried about not fitting in or something." She waves off her hands then puts them inside her jacket pockets.

"She's really funny actually. The vacation will be fun. But I guess if we don't see you guys before Wednesday, then we'll just see you guys there." He smiles then walks out of the room.

They all go down the hall to the living room and Santana bends. "Rach, c'mon. The guys are leaving."

Rachel stretches and sits up. "Okay." She gets up and hugs both Mike and Finn before walking to her room.

Puck stands up and stares at her door. "The fuck?"

Santana laughs. "You can go to her room if you want, but I'm going to bed. I can assume that you guys won't fuck up our house, so there's a key on the top of the doorframe outside the door. Lock up when you leave." She waves to them and goes down to her room.

Mike and Finn both look at Puck. "Are you going to go say bye to her?"

He rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess I should." Puck ignores the looks that his friends are giving him as he walks into her room. She's stripped down to her underwear and crawled into bed. "Hey Rach, I'm leaving."

She rolls back and looks up at him. "Okay. Guess I'll see you later." Rachel smiles and he kisses her slowly. Once she falls asleep, he picks up her phone and types in his number.

"Alright ladies, let's go." Puck closes the door and locks it, setting it back on top of the door frame.

* * *

><p>Tuesday night, Rachel is walking around her room as she packs her things for the trip. Her uniform, plenty of shorts and loose shirts, a cover up dress, and pajamas. Santana walks in and throws a bunch of bikinis onto the bed. "Which ones should I take?"<p>

Rachel looks at all the options and grabs a black one and a white one. "Take those. I'm sure that Finn will like them."

Santana sits on the bed and throws her feet on the pile that of clothes that are by the suitcase. "We're just friends Rach, so let it go." She looks at a pile of Rachel's bikinis and grabs the emerald green one and a white one, tossing them into the pile of things that she's folding.

"Isn't it weird that I'm the one who is sleeping around and you're not jumping all over Finn? It's like we switched places." Rachel folds up her uniform then sticks it into the suitcase.

"I like him, so I'm willing to wait." Rachel gasps and stares at her friend with wide eyes. "He doesn't treat me like other guys do." Santana sits up and helps Rachel fold things to pack. She's done packing all of her things except for the bikinis. "What's with you and Puck anyways? Are you two just going to sleep together whenever you want to or what?"

Brittany pops her head in for a second. "How many bikinis are you guys packing?"

"Two." Santana looks over at the blonde and smiles.

"Okay. What do you guys think of my bright blue one and my red one?"

"Those will look great Britt." The blonde smiles gratefully at them and then walks over to the small laundry room next to the bathroom.

Rachel bites her lip and looks back at Santana, sitting down. "I don't know. We haven't talked since they came over on Saturday. I'm not worried about it."

"Bullshit."

"I barely know him, so I'm trying not to make a big deal about it. You told me to relax, so I'm trying to be a little more like you."

Santana sighs. "You don't need to be like me Rach, any guy should like you just the way you are. But hey,if you're wanting to be a little like me let me know if you and Puck want to have a threesome." Santana winks and grabs her bikinis.

"You're disgusting." Rachel laughs and closes her suitcase, filled with everything she'll need except her toiletries.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Glee, the LFL/LA Temptation, Disney, or basically anything in this chapter. Don't sue me!  
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_**I've never been to Disney, so their experience may differ :D and as always, thanks for the reviews & alerts!  
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* * *

><p>Wednesday morning Finn is finishing packing up his things when someone knocks on the door repeatedly. He walks over, looking down at his plane ticket when he opens it.<p>

"Hey Finn." His head snaps up and sees Quinn standing there, Coach purse in hand along with her cell phone.

"What are you doing here? It's almost 6 in the morning…"

"Me and Sam are over. I miss you. Please, just come to Hawaii with me. We were going to leave today at this time, remember?" She looks up at him then down to his hands. "What's that?"

He tucks the ticket into his back pocket. "I'm going out of town with Puck and Mike for a few days." Finn crosses his arms over his chest.

"Well where are you going? I can get a ticket and go with you." She smiles and looks at him, hope filling her eyes.

"Quinn…we're done. The next time you land an audition, you'll probably do the same thing you did with Sam. I think he actually liked you." He shrugs.

The door down the hall opens and Quinn looks over at Mike. He instantly freezes and stares at them both. "Um, hey guys. Finn we gotta go like," He looks down at his watch and frowns. "Ten minutes ago." Mike looks between the two and goes to knock on Puck's door. "Dude, we gotta go!"

Puck comes out with a duffle bag on his shoulder and locks the door, only to see Quinn standing there. "Hudson, grab your stuff. We gotta go." He glares at the blonde and turns to go down to the elevator with Mike following behind.

"Sorry Quinn. Have fun in Hawaii." Finn goes to grab his bag and checks over everything inside then closes the door. He walks over to where Puck and Mike are, slapping their shoulders and grinning. "Let's go!"

Puck looks at Finn after the elevator door closes. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to go to Hawaii and said she missed me. I should probably get my locks changed…"

Mike laughs. "Talk to the super when we get back."

"Make sure I do. I'm really hoping I don't have to go home and clean everything up again." The second that those words leave his mouth, Finn turns pale. "I need a drink. ASAP."

Mike looks over at his friend and starts to worry he might be drunk by the time they arrive in Orlando.

Puck isn't the most famous actor in the world by a long shot, but his career is on the fast track and he's pretty well known now that he's done some big movies. Example number one, people outside LAX taking his picture along with Finn and Mike. Even though he has sunglasses on, they still seem to recognize him. He loves his job, but can't they give him a _little_ privacy? Damn. Anyways, he has money but he generally doesn't flaunt it around. He doesn't own some giant house overlooking the water with a pool and ten rooms. But for this trip, he decided to splurge a bit. First class tickets. A suite in the same hotel as the girls so that they wouldn't have to worry about trying to find a meeting place. The girls insisted on getting their own suite in Miami, courtesy of Rachel's parents. Finn insisted on paying for the rental car, but then Santana pointed out that only five could fit in one car, so Puck got another one.

"These seats are amazing." Mike leans against the window and leans back into the seat groaning.

Puck laughs from his seat next to him while Finn laughs across the aisle. "Dude, he's right. This is _so_ nice."

Finn was a little tipsy from getting a drink in the terminal since Quinn showed up at his front door. Mike shrugs as Finn starts to talk about how he thinks Quinn is such a bitch for showing up.

"You're just now noticing she's a bitch?" Puck looks at Finn in shock.

"Well, no. But what if I was sleeping?"

"Doesn't matter." He looks to Mike. "Our flight is five hours long. We can both drink a little to tune Finn out but I need you to drive Hudson's rental. I have a feeling he's going to be drinking all day."

"Not uh, I want to wait and drink at Disney." Finn pouts.

"Finn, it's way too fucking early for this. I'm usually still asleep right now. And stop acting like a child, you're 26." Puck looks at his phone, seeing that it's nearing 7 a.m. now. Luckily they all only had duffel bags so they will just have to get the rental cars and go pick up the girls at the hotel.

Santana and Rachel planned it to where the guys would land around three then they'll go to the hotel and check in, pick them up and go straight to Disney. Puck said they were all fine with it, figuring they would all asleep on the plane anyways.

"Brittany just texted me saying they're about to take off."

"What flight are they on?" Finn leans over the aisle after the flight attendant moves, checking her out before he looks over to his friends.

"They have a private plane since there's only 25 people on the team."

"Damn, lucky." Puck leans back into his chair.

"Have you talked to Rachel?" Mike moves so he's looking at the two.

"Nope. I don't think she realizes my number is in her phone."

"You could've called her or asked Santana for her number. Don't fuck this up for us. They're cool."

"Shut up Finnessa, I know."

Once Finn and Mike see that he won't be talking anymore, they all close their eyes and get ready for takeoff and a nap.

* * *

><p>Rachel pops a grape into her mouth and looks over at Brittany. "I'm so excited about Disney World."<p>

"Me too. Do you think we could find Donald Duck and take a picture with him?"

"Of course! As long as we find Mickey too." Rachel smiles and eats another grape.

"Are you two serious?" Santana looks at them both with her eyebrow raised.

"You'll have fun San, we promise. Plus we can watch Rachel sing when she goes to the American Idol thing. Maybe she'll win a Dream Ticket and actually be able to go on the show! How exciting will that be?"

"I just want to sing Britt, that's all."

"Well we'll see when you go home with a ticket!"

"Will you two just take a nap? I know I'm going to need one to keep up with you two and Finn later." Santana puts in hear headphones and closes her eyes.

"A nap sounds really good actually." Brittany smiles and follows Santana's lead.

* * *

><p>Puck pulls up to the hotel and parks, leaving a sleeping Finn inside with the AC turned on. He's checking in at the front desk when two small arms wrap around his waist. "Hi Puck." He puts his wallet back in his jeans and turns around to see Rachel with Santana and Brittany standing a few feet away.<p>

"Hey babe. How was your flight?"

"Boring. I slept most of it." She blushes. "What about yours?"

"I did the same." They get to where the other two are standing and he hugs them both. "You guys ready? Finn is asleep in my car and Mike is driving the other."

"I'll ride with Mike." Brittany smiles at them and runs over to his car, hugging him in the process. Santana and Rachel wave to him.

"Guess we're stuck with you." Santana smirks and gets into the backseat.

"Finn, wake your ass up." Puck hits his arm.

"Where are we?"

"You're in the car, we're heading towards Disney World in a minute." Rachel smiles at his confused face.

"But what happened to my beer?" He looks around then between Santana and Rachel in the seat.

"Why were you drinking so damn early?" He looks at Santana and opens his mouth but closes it. He looks over to Puck.

"Should I tell them?"

Puck shrugs while pulling out of the hotel, checking to see if Mike is still behind him. "Up to you."

"Quinn came by this morning."

"What the fuck did she want?" Santana sinks into the chair and scowls at him. Rachel catches Puck's eye in the rear view mirror. He smirks at her and winks.

"Wanted me back and to go to Hawaii with her."

"It's obvious he didn't choose her Santana. So everyone cheer up! We're going to be there soon. We have to get ear hats."

"Yes!" Finn looks back to Rachel while Puck and Santana groan. "Fine, then me and Rachel will just get one."

"Brittany will wear one too." She glares at her friend and looks out the window.

"Well the three of you can wear them and the rest of us will look like normal adults."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "Puck you'll wear one right?"

Puck looks at her beautiful brown eyes in the rear view mirror. "We'll see." He focuses back on the road and looks to see if Mike is behind him, but he only sees one person. He squints harder and has to jerk back into his lane. "Holy shit."

"PUCK!" They all scream at him.

"What was that about Puckerman?" Santana glares at him.

"Is everything okay?" Rachel has her hand over her heart and looking around.

"Um, we all saw Britt get into Mike's car right? Like we didn't lose her?"

"What? Why?" Finn looks over at Puck then back at the girls.

"I don't see her in the car…" Puck trails off and looks back again. Everyone else looks back and look hard for Brittany.

"I don't understand, she was in the car right?" Rachel looks over to Santana, but the girl just starts to laugh really hard. "What? Do you know something that we don't?"

"I think now maybe I do." She tries to control herself for a minute. "Puck, think about this really hard." Santana looks to him. He glances over his shoulder at her then back up the rear view mirror. Mike is looking around nervously while driving behind Puck in the center lane.

He starts to laugh so hard, then he looks over his shoulder and pulls onto the shoulder of the interstate. When he looks behind the car, he sees that Mike is looking extremely nervous and wondering why they stopped. Finn and Rachel are really confused and worried about Brittany, but Puck and Santana keep laughing.

"Mike really is going to happiest place on earth, in the happiest place on earth in his life right now." He starts to cough from laughing so hard.

Santana wipes away a tear. "Oh my God, you're right."

"What is going on?" Rachel raises her voice and looks to Finn for help. He just shrugs. Rachel looks back at Mike's car and sees Brittany sitting happily in the passenger seat. She gasps. "BRITTANY SUSAN PIERCE!" She yells even though she knows that the blonde won't be able to hear her. "That is completely unsafe on an interstate road! What are you thinking? And since when did you two start even doing that!"

Finn finally gets it and his eyes are wide. "Lucky bastard."

Puck looks over at Finn, finally glad that he got it. He holds out his fist and they bump together. "Seriously. We shouldn't have let them have the car to themselves."

"Don't condone that type of behavior!" Rachel smacks both of them. "Now drive! I need to get to the happiest place on earth to get that image out of my mind." She sinks down into her seat.

"Aw Rach, it's okay. Maybe we'll let you and Puck ride down to Miami alone so you can let Puck get his road head on."

"Santana!" Rachel blushes and refuses to look at Puck in the rear view mirror.

Once they get to the park Rachel and Brittany leave to purchase the tickets and grab a map to the park while the others stand and wait. Puck and Santana automatically start asking Mike a bunch of questions about if Brittany is good or not. When the two return, Mike has pink cheeks and asking if they're ready to go. Rachel begins to ignore him because she can't believe that it still happened.

"I want ears whenever I find Donald Duck, so can we do that first Rachel?" Brittany looks at her, smiling innocently.

"Sure." Rachel links arms with the blonde and they walk off in a direction to find some ear hats. Finn runs behind them and walks next to Rachel.

"Do you think they have a Steamboat Willie one?"

"I can't believe Finn wants one." Puck shakes his head.

"I demand beer and food after this." Santana crosses her arms over her chest and Mike agrees.

After a long hour of making ear hats for Finn, Rachel and Brittany, they go to Germany at Epcot. They're all nursing beers and eating German food. Finn has a sorcerer's apprentice ear hat, the blue pointy hat making him stand out even more. Rachel has a bright red Minnie bow and Brittany has one with a pink pirate bandana on it. The two girls had been adamant on getting pictures of the three of them, since they were so excited about being there. Puck was just happy that Finn was enjoying himself instead of thinking about Quinn this morning. And he couldn't help but think of how adorable Rachel is in her Minnie ears. Did he just think she's adorable? He takes a large drink of his beer. Afterwards, Rachel and Finn drag them to get pretzels then Puck pulls Santana and Mike into a store to look at steins. They all end up buying one for each of them, stuffing them in the girl's purses.

They spend the rest of the day going from the Tower of Terror, where the girls convinced them that it wasn't scary but ended up laughing at the picture they bought from the ride. All of the guys were scared while the girls pointed and smiled. The guys weren't happy with that one, especially when the girls said they wanted to frame it and put it up in the living room. To make up for it, they went on the Stars Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Somehow after that though, Brittany ran away from the group when she found Donald Duck. They took a group picture then one of Brittany kissing his cheek. Eventually they found Mickey so that Rachel could get her picture with him. Expedition Everest followed then they even got Santana and Puck to ride It's A Small World with the promise that they could drink more beer afterwards. Rachel was relieved that it looked like everyone was having fun.

"Are you having fun?" Rachel looks up at him.

"Yeah, it's actually not bad. Thanks for carrying my stein for me babe." He smiles at her instead of smirking. She bites her lip.

"It's no problem. That's one good thing about having a purse." She shrugs. "Oh look, Cinderella's castle." She points up to the large castle.

She stops and looks up at it. The rest of the group barely notice that they stopped until they look back at the two. Santana pulls out her camera and snaps a picture of Puck looking down at Rachel with a smile on his face. Then when he pulls her in to kiss her, she takes another one.

"They're going to want these one day, I can feel it." Brittany leans her head on Santana's shoulder as she looks down at the screen.

Finn and Mike nod, agreeing. "Hey you two, let's go! There's going to be a line to get good seats."

Rachel grabs onto his hand and pulls him towards the rest of the group. They locate the American Idol Experience and find seats while Rachel goes to 'audition.' It's finally night time and the park is much cooler as they sip on cokes. Puck and Santana critique all the people that are singing. There's two groups of three, and everyone in the audience gets to vote for who goes on. Rachel's turn is up next.

Puck is tapping his foot against the ground then realizes he recognizes this song. He looks over to Santana. "This is not a song I was expecting her to sing."

"Well yeah, but this is for a group at Disney World, it's smart to do something everyone probably knows."

"So she picks Fleetwood Mac?"

Santana is about to speak but then Rachel starts to sing. He's completely drawn into her, avoiding everyone around him. How does such a big sound come out of someone so tiny? He leans forward, his elbows on his knee as he watches her. Puck's positive that she doesn't know where they're sitting since they've been separated since they got there. Finn and Mike are torn between staring at Rachel or watching Puck's response to her. Santana and Brittany just laugh and sing along, watching Rachel in her shorts and v neck shirt dancing on stage as she sings.

"She looks like a natural up there." Puck finally turns to Santana.

"Rachel loves to sing." She shrugs and looks back at her best friend.

"She's pretty amazing." He ignores the look that Santana gives him and looks back to the stage. For a second they make eye contact. He's sure that she doesn't notice, but she looks back and connects with him. Singing then winking at him before looking to the judges.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, key in your votes!" They all vote for Rachel of course and watch as they wait for the results. "Okay guys, you picked Rachel and Tyler to go against each other. We're going to give them a few minutes to go look over a song. We'll be back in twenty!"

"Are we going back to the hotel after this?" Brittany looks at all of them and rests her head on Santana's shoulder.

"Yeah Britts. I'm pretty exhausted." The guys agree with Santana.

"Okay, this is how it's going to work." Everyone looks back to the stage. "Our finalists will be singing a duet. Each will have a solos, but at the end, you vote for who you think sang better. The winner will receive a Dream Ticket and they'll get the chance to go audition for American Idol when auditions go around. Now give them a round of applause."

Everyone claps and Puck leans forward again. The music for Faithfully by Journey comes on. Tyler leads off and everyone is swaying back and forth, entranced by his voice. But when Rachel comes in, the audience gasps and stares in awe. Puck feels his stomach clenching as he watches her. She deserves the Dream Ticket. It ends, but Rachel got in the big notes and overpowered the other guy. It's pretty clear who the winner is going to be. When they announce that she won, she legit cries on stage and says thank you to everyone.

In true American Idol fashion, Rachel races towards them waving the ticket in the air. Santana and Brittany squealed yelling I told you so's to the smaller girl but hug her regardless.

"I knew you would get a ticket Rach! You're voice is so pretty." Brittany hugs her tightly again.

"What she said." Santana grinned and Rachel knew what was coming. The taller girl put her hands on Rachel's cheeks and pulled her close for a big kiss.

All the guys groaned but Brittany pouted. "What's wrong Brittany?" Mike looks at her worriedly.

"I never get sweet lady kisses from them."

Rachel and Santana look at each other, an evil glint in their eye. They move slowly towards Brittany and both kiss her on the mouth. Mike, being the sneaky ninja that he is, somehow managed to get a picture of it then quickly sent it to Finn and Puck before the girls noticed anything.

"Dude, how did you?" Finn looks at Mike, but the Asian gives him a warning look to not say anything.

"God, so hot." Puck ignores his phone and just stares straight at the girls. The girls pull away and giggle, glad that Brittany is wearing a smile on her face again. Rachel looks over to Puck shyly. "You were really good. I didn't know you had a voice like that."

"Did you really think it was good?"

"Do you not see that little ticket in your hand?" He plucks it from her fingers and waves it around. "The whole damn audience that it was good."

She bites her bottom lip and moves towards him, raising up to give him a quick kiss. "Can we go back to the hotel? I'm exhausted."

Everyone else groans in agreement, so they leave the park. Brittany, Finn and Rachel having their ear hats on.

* * *

><p>Rachel, Santana and Brittany are on their side of the stadium warming up. They got the guys front row seats but haven't seen them since Wednesday. Once their coach said they had a little bit of free time before the other team is announced to the come on the field, they could go and do as they please within the limits of the field. So you could sit on the bench, talk to fans, or just warm up. Usually Santana and Rachel would throw back and forth to each other while Brittany sat on the ground and stretched, but this game they actually had something else to do. They left their helmets and walked over to the stands. The game wasn't in a covered arena, so the guys were all wearing sunglasses, which helped Puck keep his identity hidden a little more easily along with his newly purchased LA Temptation hat. All the guys got one.<p>

"Nice hats." Brittany walks up and taps on the bill of Mike's.

"It's bright as fuck out here, I don't even understand how you're going to play." Puck leans over the railing and kisses Rachel's lips. "Hey babe. You look hot."

Santana looks at the two of them and rolls her eyes. Finn looks at their uniforms, this time it's white tops and bottoms, white lace garters and chokers. All of them looked better in the white uniforms than the other ones in his opinion.

"You two need to get a room." Finn looks at them then turns so that he doesn't have to look at them making out.

"Maybe later."

"Puck!" She slaps his arm but keeps a hold on his hand. Puck looks down at their hands and thinks it's not so bad to be holding hers out where everyone can see it.

"Did you guys get any dirt on the other team?" Mike leans over on the railing and looks between the girls. Finn does the same.

"No, but coach Beiste says that some of the girls on this team like to play dirty. A lot of them are new so I guess we won't really know until we start." Santana shrugs like it isn't a big deal, looking down at her nails.

"If anything happens we have to trust their doctors though."

"Oh, nothing will happen Brittany don't worry." Rachel smiles and waives her hand dismissively. She raises up on her toes to kiss Puck again.

"Lopez! Pierce! Berry! Get over here, they're about to announce the other team!" Will shouts over to them and turns around.

"We'll see you guys after the game." Brittany and Santana wink at them and head over to the benches.

"See you after." Rachel smiles up at him and kisses him deeply.

"Good luck Berry. I'll be cheering you on." Puck nips at her lips then smacks her ass as she leaves. She looks over her shoulder and glares at him, blowing a kiss.

"Dude, you totally like her." Finn stares in amazement at his friend.

"So what?" He spits out defensively.

"Nothing. She's good for you, that's all we're saying." Mike puts his hands defensively then puts on his sunglasses. "God I love this sport."

They all look out at the girls in lingerie. "You were right Puck, this is a _great_ idea." Finn grins and pulls down his sunglasses too.

"Damn right Hudson, you should listen to me more often."

A quarter way through the first half of the game, Santana throws the ball to Rachel on the left side of the field. She's running towards the fifty in front of Puck, Finn and Mike. But everyone in the crowd sees it before she does, a taller girl from the other team is heading straight towards her. A second later, she tackles Rachel on the right side making them crash to the ground, the smaller girl hitting her head hard. The one from the other team gets up and walks away but Santana is ripping her helmet off and screaming Rachel's name, so she turns around and sees that the smaller girl isn't moving.

"Rachel!" Santana reaches her friend and looks to see if she's breathing.

Brittany is standing on the sidelines and her helmet drops as Santana screams for the doctors and coaches, but they're all headed in that direction anyways. They're all crowding around her but Brittany knows she can't run out to sit next to Santana. Puck stands up, leaning against the railing with his sunglasses on top of his head. All he can see is her pigtails on the grass now that her helmet is off and her legs not moving. Finn and Mike stand up, Finn putting his hand on Puck's shoulder. Santana's hand is on Rachel's knee sock as they examine her.

"Britt!" Puck calls over to her.

Brittany turns around and contemplates going over, but since no one is paying attention to her, she does. "I don't know what's going on Puck. They have her blocked from where I was standing." The blonde has tears in her eyes.

He runs his hand over her shoulder and she moves her hand to grip his. Mike shoots him a look, showing that he clearly wants to be the one to comfort her, so he takes her hand and leads her to Mike. She looks back at Puck and smiles sadly but squeezes his hand before going to his friend.

Just then, Santana looks over to Puck and Finn, a tear clearly rolling down her cheek. In the time they've known her, Rachel says that she has only really seen Santana cry once or twice. So they both knew that she had to be really scared in order to show that in a stadium filled with people. Puck grips the railing harder until he sees Santana gasp and Rachel's legs moving. He's about ready to jump over and run to her to see if she's okay. His stomach drops and he realizes that he really cares about her. They've all become like a little family in a week and that scares him.

Finn can tell that Puck is starting to lose it. "Don't freak out man. Don't fight the feelings you have, just let it go where it goes." He raises his eyebrows at Puck to make sure he's understanding.

He looks into the eyes of his best friend and nods. He's right, it's as easy as that. But when he looks onto the field he sees they brought out a stretcher and lifting Rachel onto it with something wrapped around her neck. They're wheeling her off towards the locker room and Santana quickly runs over to them.

"They're worried she might have a concussion from the hit. Her side may be sore but other than that it looks like she's fine. She just got knocked out when she got tackled." She wipes away the tear that is threatening to spill out. "You can see her after the game though. They're going to keep her in the locker room so she can relax a little."

Puck nods, knowing he can't really do much but suffer through the rest of the game. Finn leans over and pulls Santana into a hug. She tenses at first but then wraps her arms around his neck, him whispering something in her ear. Santana nods then pulls away, smiles at Puck then wraps pinky fingers with Brittany to go back to the sidelines. Will is just getting done talking to the girl who will replace Rachel.

The game starts back up, but it's clear that Santana isn't as focused as she was at the beginning of the game. It doesn't help that the girl who is in Rachel's spot isn't very good at catching the ball. The guys are groaning and yelling, wondering why she can't catch the ball. It gets intercepted and when Santana comes back to the sidelines she throws her helmet down and yells in Spanish. Brittany is out on the field and manages to get the ball back but by then it's halftime. All the girls disappear off the field and the guys slump back into their seats.

"This is rough." Finn runs his hand over his face.

"I don't think they're going to put San back in the next half." They all look at Mike who shrugs. "She's distracted."

The second half of the game, Mike was right. Santana is distracted and she isn't connecting with Rachel's replacement. It's the third down and they haven't made any progress what so ever. By Puck's calculations, they've actually lost yards. The coaches are frustrated, so they pull her out of the game and send Brittany in since she's the back up for Santana. The Latina is sitting on the bench, bent over with her hands covering the back of her head. Finn keeps his eyes on her, but Mike and Puck watch as Brittany gets them a touchdown, but no conversions. It leaves them losing 7-6.

* * *

><p>Rachel is laying in her bed watching as Brittany and Santana get ready to go out with the guys. Her ribs are aching and her neck is a little sore. The blonde goes into the bathroom to curl her hair and Santana walks over to the bed, stroking her wavy brown locks.<p>

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'm fine San. I'll look for something on TV and get room service. You guys have fun. I know the loss really sucked today."

"Just shows that we really do need you to win." She smirks and looks over to the door when she hears knocking. Hesitating for a minute, she looks back to Rachel. "Are you sure you're okay with us going out? I can take my anger out in here and just order a shit load of wine from room service."

"San, I don't want you to be miserable here. Go have fun."

Santana gets up and opens the door while Rachel burrows down into the blankets and grabs for the remote. All three of them walk in, wearing jeans and button up shirts. Puck walks over to Rachel and lays down next to her.

"How are you feeling Rach?" Finn walks over to the foot of her bed and looks at her concerned.

"I'm fine Finn, thank you. Just make sure you have some fun for me." She looks at him then over to Puck. She looks down nervously.

"I'm not going out." He pats her thigh then toes off his shoes.

"What? Why?" She looks at him then over to Mike and Finn.

"Well we all agreed that it'd probably be best if someone stayed with you so that you can get a lot of rest. We don't want you to be hurting at the beach tomorrow."

"Mike, that's so sweet of you guys but really, I'll be okay."

"Oh shut up Rach. Puck probably wouldn't have a good time unless you're there, so stop bitching. We won't come back too late, but if we do we'll just go up to the guys suite so you can sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow, probably around 9." Santana looks at her pointedly while putting in an earring.

Rachel sighs, looking at how they're getting all dressed up to go to the club and she's sitting her in her pajamas. She feels even worse that Puck is staying here to babysit her. "Fine. But I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about. Just remember having a hangover at the beach isn't fun."

They all laugh then head out the door once Brittany is done. She lays back against the pillows and looks to Puck. "I'm really sorry that you're stuck here."

"Like San, I wouldn't have had as much anyways. I'd be without a dancing partner." He winks and walks over to find a room service menu.

"Noah Puckerman not being able to find a dance partner? I'd like to see that happen." She mumbles. All she hears is his laugh from across the room while he searches the desk.

"It's more annoying than you think."

"Have people always called you Puck?" Rachel sits up a little more on the bed.

He turns around with his eyebrows furrowed like he's thinking hard. "Well yeah. From middle school to college, I had a mohawk. A badass stud like me doesn't go around by the name 'Noah.'" Puck shrugs and walks back over glancing at the menu.

"Would you mind if I called you Noah?" Rachel looks over, worried that he will freak out. Puck puts the menu down and glances over. She's biting her bottom lip and looks nervous. "I mean it might help avoiding bringing so much attention around if we all go around in public. I'd rather just call you you're given name anyways." She smiles hesitantly.

"No, it's not a problem. If you want to." He hands her the menu.

"Thank you." Rachel starts to look it over while he flips through channels. He usually only lets his mom and his sister call him that or certain family members, but it wouldn't be so bad if Rachel called him that.

"Do you know what you want?"

"Cheeseburger and fries with a coke."

Rachel leans over him, wincing slightly with her side but picking up the phone. Puck starts to rub her back and she smiles while she waits. "Yes, I'd like a cheeseburger, fries, chicken alfredo, a coke, water, and crème brule. Charge it to the room. Okay thanks." She puts the phone down and moves back next to Puck.

"Hungry much?" He laughs.

"I am actually." She pushes at him. "Don't be mean."

He grabs her arm and pulls her into his side, moving to where he's looking over her. "Really, how are you feeling?"

"My neck feels stiff and my side hurts a little bit, but I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow. I just cannot believe that bitch tackled me that hard." She gasps and covers her mouth. "Excuse my language."

Puck chuckles and rubs her neck a lightly "I can't believe 'that bitch,'" He smirks as she rolls her eyes with him repeating her words, "hit you that hard either. We were all really worried when you weren't moving. You looked so damn sexy in the uniform though." He leans down and kisses her slowly.

Rachel immediately responds, deepening the kiss while Puck moves over her. His left hand moving up, gently stroking circles where she got hit. Her hands sneak under his shirt, hands going up his abs then around to his back. How is he built like a Greek god?

He pulls away laughing then nips at her lips. "I work hard for this body baby."

Did she just say that out loud? Her eyes are closed and she tries to remember if she heard her voice when she thought that.

"Yes you did." She looks up at him with her eyes wide. "Did they give you something in the locker room?"

"Can ibuprofen make you high?"

Puck laughs a bit harder and puts his head down on her shoulder, kissing her collarbone where her tank top strap stops. "No it can't babe." She puts her hands over her face, a blush moving down her neck and onto her chest. "Aw c'mon, it was cute." Puck situates himself on his knees and pulls her hands off her face. He looks down and sees that she's all flushed then puts her hands above her head and kisses her again.

A moan comes from her mouth as she opens up to let his tongue in. She moves so that her legs wrap around his hips as he grinds into her. Right when Puck is about to take off her shirt, someone knocks on the door. She whimpers when her shirt is halfway up and his head falls down onto her chest.

"Cockblocked by food. That's just fucking terrific." He groans when his hands pull away from her soft, warm skin and walks to the door, adjusting himself and wanting to punch this person in the face.

"Room service!" Rachel feels bad for the person on the other side of the door.

"Yeah, we know." Puck pulls open the door, the teenager immediately backing up a bit and pushes the tray towards the taller man. He can tell that Puck isn't happy but he tries to smile anyways. "Here man." Puck hands him some cash and mumbles out a thanks.

"Thanks Noah." Rachel smiles and bites her lip, eyeing the food instead of him.

"No problem." He hands Rachel her food then sits down and pulls his into his lap. "Oh my God this looks good."

She giggles and digs into her food. "So you said that you have a sister?"

"Mm." He nods his head as he chews then swallows. "Yeah, she just turned 21 a few months ago. She's at Ohio State. You got any siblings?"

"No. My father's decided not to have another child. It may have been for the fact that they didn't want to find another surrogate once we all got to New York."

"Wait, father's?"

She nods. "Yes, they're gay and got a surrogate to have me." Rachel smiles brightly. "But they were very invested in my future so having another child probably would've distracted them from that anyways."

"How's that?"

Rachel turns towards him and puts her hands in her lap. "Well they put me in acting, vocal and dance lessons. For the longest time I wanted to be on Broadway."

"But?"

She laughs. "But once I got to NYU, it just wasn't as fun anymore. I still love singing but the acting part just didn't work out. I just worked faster and got my degree, then I tried out for the team. It was a good change though and an opportunity that I didn't want to give up."

"As long as you're happy then that's pretty cool." Puck polishes off his burger then leans back onto the pillows. "You've got a killer voice though. People should hear that shit."

Rachel scrunches her nose at his language. "Did you always want to be an actor?" She bites into her food and turns so that she's facing him.

He laughs and reaches over to tuck her hair behind her ear, his hand landing down on top of her thigh. "Nope. I took a film class when I was still undeclared and I actually really liked it. Then I got to taking more and majored in film studies. When we all moved to LA I went to go interview for a job and it ended up being an audition. Got the part though." He winks.

"You've got to be pretty lucky."

"Something like that. I've never really had it easy."

"What do you mean?" Rachel takes another bite.

"My dad left when I was younger and Sarah was barely even one. My ma had to work two jobs and worked long shifts at the hospital. She's a nurse." He bit into his burger, wondering why it was so easy to tell her this.

"Oh I'm so sorry."

He waves her off and takes another bite. "He's a jackass anyways. I hope I never see him again."

"My mother came back to find me during high school." Puck looks at her, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "She wanted to get to know me, but when she realized that I wasn't a little girl anymore, she just left." She rubs the crease while she talks, smiling when he relaxes.

"She doesn't deserve you then."

Rachel pushes her bowl away and starts to eat her dessert. She holds up the spoon, offering him a bite then finishes it off quickly after. They talk about him acting some more and about high school. Her being bullied and how she favored skirts and sweaters, him being even more of an asshole and a jock. But once they get done talking, she's curled up into his side watching random movies until they both fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Puck wakes up the next morning to someone whispering his name and pushing at his shoulder. "Puck, wake up."<p>

He rolls over and sees Santana and Brittany staring at him with smiles on their faces. He reaches over to where Rachel was sleeping, but the spot is cold. "Where's Rach?"

"Getting ready. We have to get on the road soon. The guys have already showered so you'll have the bathroom to yourself up there. We used your shower."

He lifts an eyebrow. "Together?"

"No! I showered with Mike." Brittany smiles and walks towards the bathroom. "Rachel can I help with your hair?" The bathroom door opens and closes.

"So those two?"

"Yeah, they had a lot of fun last night. Did you?" Santana smirks and him and lifts a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him.

"I got cockblocked by food then we spent most of the night talking and watching movies."

"Talking? Is that what you do with most girls?"

He sighs, wondering where this conversation is going. "Not really."

"I've seen you in those stupid gossip magazines, you tend to get around a lot. So I'm just going to say this once. Figure out if you want to be sleeping around with other girls or not then let Rachel know what this is between the two of you. I don't want to see her get hurt. The last relationship she was in turned shitty towards the end. She's my best friend and like a sister to me. More so than my actual sister."

"Look, I know we all haven't known each other a long time, but I think this could be more than just sex. Even if she ends up being just my friend, but if that's the case I'm not going to fuck around with her. There's something special about her and I want to find out. You guys are pretty damn cool too. Especially if you all keep kissing each other." Puck gets up and winks at her.

"I'll be watching." Santana looks at him then smirks, walking towards her suitcase.

"Alright Lopez. I'll see you guys downstairs." He knocks on the door. "Hey Rach, I'm gonna go shower and get my shit."

"See you downstairs Noah."

Once Rachel comes out of the bathroom, Santana is sitting on her bed next to the open suitcase. "Noah?"

"Yes, I asked him if I could call him that. I figured it might be easier to call him that in public and get less attention drawn towards us all."

"Or maybe you're seeing a different side of him then we are." Brittany chimes in, zipping up her suitcase then sitting on the floor by Rachel, her Mickey ears hat sitting on her head.

"I've seen the same side that you guys have, so stop."

"You've seen the naked side of Puck. I wouldn't mind seeing that part though." Santana shrugs and pulls out Rachel's bikini. "You should put this on. We're going to the beach right after we check in."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Puck naked." Brittany looks up at the ceiling.

"Stop imagining him naked!" Rachel shrieks and grabs her bikini. She turns toward the blonde and glares slightly. "And aren't you with Mike now? You just told me that while you were curling my hair."

"Stomp away a little more Rach. Jealous looks good on you." Santana laughs. Then she looks over to Brittany who is biting her lip. "You thinking about Puck still?"

"We'll get to see part of his body at the beach, but I was thinking about my shower this morning." She blushes.

"Tell me, does Mike have a 6 pack? When we met him I thought he would."

"Eight."

"Holy shit." Santana falls back against the bed. She looks over at Brittany. "How many do you think Puck has?"

"Six." Rachel calls from the bathroom. "Please stop talking about their bodies! You'll get to see them in a few hours anyways." She walks out in her bikini top and her shorts. "Is there a bruise on my ribs?"

Brittany examines her side from the floor when she gets by them again. "I don't see anything. Does it hurt?"

"It's not bad. I've had worse."

The blonde hugs Rachel then gets up to get her suitcase. All the girls are sporting wavy hair, shorts and a loose top over their bikinis. "To the beach!" Brittany grins and turns to walk out the door while Rachel makes sure that they have everything.

* * *

><p>Puck and Finn pull up to the beach parking lot and the guys carry everything out while the girls carry their bags. Rachel sets up her towel and sets up her sun block and other various items to keep her towel from blowing away. Santana and Brittany do the same, then they all lay down while the guys disappear to get beer and water. Rachel drops down her wayfarer glasses and the other two do the same with theirs. They all match.<p>

"It's so nice out today." Rachel stretches out and her hand accidentally hits the umbrella that they put up. Santana steadies it then goes back to sunbathing.

"Do you think the guys will go in the ocean?" Brittany props up on her elbows and looks over.

"Sure Britts. They'll probably do anything you ask them to." Rachel smiles at Santana's answer and lays back down.

The guys walk over and drop down a styrofoam cooler filled with ice, beer, water and frozen popsicles. Puck leans down and kisses Rachel. "Guess what we got?"

"Stuff to make a sandcastle?" Brittany asks excitedly.

They all look over at her and she shrugs. "Not quite Britt." Mike pulls out a football. "How about a little game of touch football?"

"You do know that we do this all the time right?" Santana stands up and puts her hands on her hips.

"So what? But since you all do play together, we're going to split up. Me, Mike and Santana on one team. Finn, Rachel and Brittany on the other."

Brittany jumps up and runs over to an open area with Mike, Finn and Santana following along. Puck helps Rachel up and puts his arm around her. "You gonna be alright to play?"

"Oh yeah. You're going to lose." She sticks her tongue out and runs over to Finn and Brittany. Puck laughs and goes near his team. "Let's kick some ass!" Rachel bumps her fist with her teammates and hands the ball to Finn.

The game isn't really taken seriously, Mike will playfully wrap his arms around Brittany to 'block' her from catching the ball. Finn and Rachel actually make a decent team but she still can't connect more with a quarterback unless it's Santana or when Brittany fills in. When Rachel moves into the area of the sand they claim is the end zone and gets a touchdown, Santana starts to cuss in Spanish, glaring at Puck and Mike. A few people around them look at her in shock and cover their children's ears. Everyone laughs but get a heated glare from the girl.

"This is my last try to win this or else I'm going to go lay down." Santana looks at Puck then to Mike. Both are a bit scared of her at the moment.

"C'mon Puckerman, show me what you got." Rachel licks her lips and smiles at Puck.

"Oh Berry, you don't even know what's coming." He grins when her eyes get dark, but she literally shakes her head.

Santana throws the ball, but Brittany moves quickly in front of Mike, catching the ball and scoring another touchdown. Santana throws up her hands and points to Mike and Puck. "You two suck! Next time, I get my girls back and we're going to own your asses." She walks off to their towels and sits down, pulling down her sunglasses and cracking open a beer.

"Good game guys." Finn smiles sheepishly then goes after Santana. Mike just rewards Brittany with a kiss.

After everyone else goes to sit down and drink some beer, Puck pulls Rachel towards the water. "C'mon Rach, it's not that cold."

She walks in a bit farther, only to run back towards the sand. "Noah that's freezing!"

He runs after her and wraps his arms around her waist, dragging her back. "Once you get in it's fine. I swear."

"You're rolling your eyes at me under those aviators aren't you?" Rachel runs away deeper into the ocean until it's halfway up her stomach. "Is this better?" She laughs as he stalks towards her.

He wraps his arms around her, lifting her up until she wraps her legs around his waist. "Now it's better." He smirks.

"You're ridiculous." She rolls her eyes even though he can't see her eyes through her sunglasses. Rachel wraps her left arm behind his neck and around his shoulder. The other rests on his chest then leans down to kiss him, tracing her tongue around his lips until he lets her in. Puck tightens his grip on her waist, careful to avoid her ribs. He walks deeper into the ocean until the water is up his back. She gasps at how much colder it is and pulls away.

"It's really cold!" She hugs him closer and looks down at the water.

"I'll warm you up baby." He waggles his eyebrows.

"You're so disgusting. And this isn't even sanitary." She scrunches up her nose and looks around. "What if there's sharks in here?"

Puck laughs then tosses her playfully away from him. She pops back up, standing on her toes as she tries to get back to the beach. Rachel laughs then turns around when she can stand up better and splashes him. He spits out some water and puts his sunglasses on top of his head. "Did you really just splash me?"

Rachel bites her lip and tries not to laugh, putting her sunglasses up too. He starts to run the best he can through the water to chase after her, splashing her as he goes. "Noah! Stop!" He doesn't though until he reaches her and throws her over his shoulder.

"Not a chance." He drags her up the beach, ignoring the amused looks from their friends. He slaps her ass then drops her onto the sand, laying on her towel and grabbing a beer.

Santana is smirking from her place in between Brittany and Finn. "You two need to just get a room and stay there."

"Rachel, will you come with me to find stuff to make a sandcastle? I've never made one before." Brittany smiles up at her friend.

"Sure." She smiles brightly. "I've never made one either." Rachel grabs her phone just in case and they walk over to a row of shops that's set up.

Everyone looks over at Puck who has his sunglasses back down on his face with his headphones in. They roll their eyes and Santana goes back to her looking on her phone. Opening up Twitter, she looks through her friends tweets along with random celebrities. She gets down to one that updates on different celebrities, usually pictures taken by the paparazzi. She clicks open a link and she sees it. Santana sits up abruptly, throwing off her sunglasses that hits Finn on the chest.

"Ow San." He rubs his chest and sits up. "What was that for?"

She stares at her phone then shows it to Mike and Finn. There on the screen is a picture of Rachel in her white bikini with her legs wrapped around a half naked Puck, kissing in the middle of the ocean.

_Who is Puck's new lady? According to some sources, we found that he is vacationing in Miami with his best friends Finn Hudson and Mike Chang. But we're not sure who the three hot bikini babes that are with them. _

Santana scrolls down to another picture further down on the link that shows them both with their sunglasses up on top of their heads and splashing around.

_We have recognized Puck's friend as Rachel Berry, the wide receiver for the LFL LA Temptation team. Could the other two girls be on the same team? They did have a game this past Friday in Orlando. Guess we have a new girl to watch as Hollywood's new heart throb vacays._

"Shit." They all mutter together.

* * *

><p><em>Note: I meant to add this last chapter but...I forgot. This is the condo that I'm using as the girls' home and their rooms are similar to their rooms on Glee.<br>_

.com/city/los-angeles/listing/11528469-147-n-berendo-st-los-angeles-city-ca-90004/

Also, I tweaked the American Idol Experience to fit in with the story. They do have groups who perform and they do offer a Dream Ticket :)


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Glee. And a few other things in this chapter, but I don't want to give them away :)**

* * *

><p>Santana looks over at Puck and sees his phone laying on the towel near his thigh. She leans across Finn and snatches it, throwing it into her purse. "What are you doing?" Finn stares at her with wide eyes.<p>

"I don't want them to know about this. Not yet. Rachel will freak out about feelings and shit."

"They have to talk about it sooner or later San. Rachel will walk around and there will probably be paparazzi following her now. Girls will stare. Well glare." Mike adds in which makes Santana look at him. "We have experience with this type of thing." He shrugs.

"Rachel, are you sure this is all we need to make a sandcastle?" Brittany and Rachel walk up, both staring down into a little bag filled with various bucket sizes and shapes with little plastic shovels.

"Well it is a sandcastle building kit. So I think so. Maybe Mike will know."

Santana freezes and stares at Rachel. She holds out her hand. "Rach, phone."

"What?" She stares at her friends hand. "Why do you need my phone?"

"This is our vacation, you don't need to be carrying that thing around." She moves her fingers around until Rachel drops the device into her palm, glaring.

"I brought it with me in case something should happen to us Santana."

Mike grabs the bag out of Brittany's and Rachel's hands. "C'mon Britt, I'll help you with the castle. You coming Rach?"

"Yeah, just one minute." She smiles at them then glares back at Santana then looks to Puck who looks like he's asleep. She walks away towards Mike and Brittany.

"Shit." Finn looks down at his phone that started ringing then to Santana's bag that has Puck's phone ringing in it.

"What?"

"Puck's publicist is calling me. I don't even know who could be calling his phone." Finn gets up and walks a few feet away, him rubbing the back of his head.

She watches Finn, hearing a few words every now and then. "Well how are you going to clean this up?...No, I don't know what they are yet, but we're all friends…" He hangs up on whoever he is talking to and sits back down in the sand in front of Santana. "Apparently some gossip magazines are getting pictures of them separately, then the ones from here to put out tomorrow. So if they're going to figure out what this is, tonight may be the only time to do it. Because when we go back to LA tomorrow, I don't know what's going to happen."

"But isn't his publicist supposed to stop shit like this from happening?"

"Yeah, but since it's a gossip magazine there's not much they can do. They print lies and a whole bunch of other stupid shit. With Puck, they love to put up stuff with him and girls. Plus if he has a new girl it will boost his career. Well kinda." He runs a hand down his face then looks back at his phone that's ringing. His eyebrows furrow. "Hello?" Finn is nodding even though the other person obviously can't see him and mumbles out a few 'yeahs' and 'sure'. "Are you serious?" Santana raises her eyebrows at him. "Can you email it to me and I'll print it out at the hotel?" Finn mumbles a few more things before reaching into Santana's bag for his wallet, keys and shirt. "Yeah, bye."

"What the hell is going on?" She's even more frustrated, looking at his bag fumbling around in her purse.

"There's a new movie. They're starting the audition process and they're really interested in Puck for a lead. They're emailing me the script. I gotta go print it out so he can read it today. If he wants to, the audition is Monday."

There's something off in the way he's talking. "But?"

"It's in New York. He'll have to leave LA to go straight there."

Her shoulders slump forward and looks over to Rachel. They're laughing and building what looks like a really shitty sandcastle. "Go get the script." She waves her hand in the direction of the car. He looks at her then nods, running through the sand. Once he's gone, she punches Puck in the ribs.

"The fuck woman?" He sits up groaning and pulls his sunglasses up to glare at her.

"I didn't want to leave you sleeping here while Finn is gone, so let's help out with that stupid sandcastle.

"Where'd he go?"

"To print off some script for you."

Puck arches up an eyebrow but grabs a beer to take over with them. He sits next to Rachel and kisses her now dry hair. "What do you think?" She smiles at him.

He looks at the lopsided castle that is slowly falling apart. "Um, looks shit awful." Her smiles drops. "You do know that you need wet sand right? This…isn't."

Mike looks at him then down to the castle. "Oh, shit you're right."

Puck rolls his eyes and gets up, grabbing the biggest bucket to get some water. He dumps it into their pile of sand then starts to work with it. By the time Finn gets back, they have a better looking sandcastle.

"Hey, I need you to read this." Finn drops the script into Puck's lap then looks at the castle. "Gather around it and smile."

"Why?" Brittany looks up at him.

"It's your first sandcastle right?" She nods. "Then let's get a picture." They all smile and he takes it on his phone. "Now, go back over there and read." He looks to Puck then sits down.

"What is this for?"

"They want to do a prequel to _Inglourious Basterds_ and they want you in it as one of the leads." Puck's eyes widen as he stares at Finn.

"You fuckin joking?"

"No, so go read." Finn goes back to helping them add small things to the castle.

He looks to Rachel who just smiles at him. "I'm going to go read, come over if you get bored."

Rachel watches as he goes back to their towels, facing them while laying on his stomach to read. She looks back at her friends then gets up to go lay next to Puck. In those few minutes, he's already a good ten pages into the script. She kisses his cheek after she gets down on her stomach.

"Can you believe this?" He puts it down for a second. She looks at him questioningly. "They want me specifically. This will be fucking huge if I get it."

Her finger traces his jaw line. "You're perfect for it." She smiles then lays her head back down and closing her eyes. Her ribs feel a little sore from all the throwing she did in their game earlier.

Puck sits up, rubbing her back while he reads. He's so into the script that he doesn't notice that Rachel fell asleep or that the rest of them are back on the towels, falling asleep too. Three quarters of the way through, he lays on his back, fingers skimming Rachel's calf while everyone else is on their stomachs. He sits up abruptly. There's no doubt in his mind that he wants to do this no matter how the fucking thing ends. He leans over her body and smacks Finn.

"Huh, what?" He looks around and sees they're all asleep.

"Dude, I'm in. I wanna audition."

He smiles lazily. "It's on Monday. New York."

"What?" He half screams. Everyone wakes up and looks over at him. "Do I need to change my flight or some shit?"

Finn thinks about it. "Actually, that'd be smart."

"We're celebrating tonight." Santana cuts in abruptly. "But we need go get ready and get some food. I'm starving."

Puck looks up and notices that the sun is actually setting. Had he been reading that long?

The girls are getting ready and they're just lying down on the beds. Puck is looking up at the ceiling, wondering if this whole audition is real or if he's in some fucked up dream. He props up on his elbows and looks at Finn. "Do you need to come with me to this thing?"

"Probably not, but do you want me to? I can probably talk to them afterwards and see what your chances are. The guy who called is pretty cool."

"Yeah, sounds good."

Rachel is leaning against the door frame in the bathroom and just overheard Puck and Finn's conversation. "Hey San?" Santana turns to her and lifts her eyebrow. "What do you think he'd have to do for his audition?"

"Probably read part of the script. Might have to act out some parts with another actor or actress if they have that part set already. Dunno though."

"You have nothing to worry about Rach. It looks like Puck really likes you." Brittany leans against the counter while Santana does part of her makeup.

Rachel is already ready, just not wanting to interrupt their conversation about New York. Or what they'll be when they get back to LA. She lets out a sigh. Her best friends look at her confused, but she smiles and walks out of the bathroom. All the guys let out a whistle.

Puck scoots to the edge of bed where Rachel steps in between his legs. "I love this dress." He runs his hands up her back. It's nothing flashy, just a black dress with straps that barely stay on her shoulders, a full zipper up the back. Someone could pull it all the way down and she'd be naked. And black high heeled ankle boots. There's something about this girl and boots that drives him wild.

"Holy shit Puck, keep it PG-13." Santana walks out rolling her eyes at Puck's hands finding their way to Rachel's ass. Finn perks up seeing her in a tight black skirt that is dangerously short and a loose black and white striped top and red heels on. He swallows and looks over to Puck. His friend just laughs at him and pulls Rachel closer.

"We're all adults, how about we keep it R?" Brittany laughs and walks out of the bathroom. Her dress just looks like white lace over more white lace with white heels. She could probably pass as an angel.

"I like Britt's idea." Puck smirks.

"Fuck off." Mike pulls her to him closely.

* * *

><p>They enter a club later that night, all the girls in tight dresses with the guys in jeans and button up shirts again. Rachel pulls Santana out onto the dance floor immediately to make up for the night before, quickly telling Puck to get her anything good. Brittany looks at them then to Mike.<p>

"You can join them Britt." He smiles and she runs off to the dance floor. They're waiting at the bar as they watch her. She squishes Rachel in the middle, the smaller girl grinding up on Brittany.

"If they dance like that sober…" Finn stares with his jaw dropped.

"What will it be like when they're drunk?" Mike looks at them both.

"Well lets hurry up and get some drinks before some assholes try to get in with them." Puck orders a Jack and coke, a sex on the beach for Rachel. He smirks to himself. "See you ladies out there." Puck saunters off while Finn and Mike still wait for a bartender since they were too distracted staring at them.

"Noah!" Rachel grabs the drink and lets her friends dance with each other. She sucks on the little mixing straw that comes with it, turning around and grinding up on Puck.

"Shit baby." He puts one arm around her waist and pulls her in close.

"I love this song!" Brittany points to Rachel and grabs Santana's hips. "San, did you know that this guy wears a big mouse head?"

Santana rolls her eyes and smiles. Puck honestly doesn't know how they can hear each other. The bass is making Rachel vibrate against him. When Finn and Mike walk up, they see that Brittany dropped to the ground then slowly started to make her way back up Santana's front, grinding into her. Mike pulls her away so she'll do that to him instead. Finn awkwardly stands behind Santana, but she smiles and basically does all the work, just one of his hands on her hip.

Rachel sips on her drink, putting an arm behind Puck's neck since she can reach easily now with her heels on. They're dancing together, but they don't even see that people recognize him and are sending pictures to gossip sites online.

She turns in his arms again and raises on her toes to talk into his ears. "Are you sure you don't need to back at the hotel looking over the script?"

"Nope, I'll get to use it when I audition." He kisses hear ear and moves his hand up to caress the side of her breast.

"I need a refill." She smiles up at him then pulls his hand to follow her.

Rachel sits on a stool and he stands behind her, lips finding her neck and hands running down her sides. Her head falls back onto his shoulder and leaning to the left so he can kiss more.

"What do you want Noah?"

"Jack and coke." She orders then turns around, wrapping her legs around his calves. He leans down and kisses her. "You're a good dancer."

She blushes and says thank you. They make their way back to the dance floor and grinds up against Puck again. They continue this for hours, each couple leaving at random times to get more drinks, dancing. Occasionally Rachel would leave him to dance in front of Santana, but still holding his hand and making eye contact with him as she does. It put a lot of filthy images in his head that he'll have to use when he can't have her.

A few hours, and drinks, later Puck leans down and sucks on Rachel's ear lobe. "Wanna go for a walk after I close up our tab?" Her head turns towards him and she kisses him deeply, moaning into his mouth.

"I would love that." She smiles. When he walks away she turns to Santana. "We're going for a walk. We'll be out on the beach near the club okay?" The taller girl nods and goes back to dancing. Finding her way to Puck, they hold hands and leave the club.

Rachel and Puck sit down in the sand on the beach not too far from the club. She settles in between his legs, shoes next to them and looking down at her phone. The moon is full and bright with stars twinkling. Puck feels like this is the most romantic thing he's done, well ever. His arms are wrapped around her waist, looking out into the ocean while she scrolls through some emails. She opens up one from Tina and sees that there's an attachment. Tapping her screen, a picture pops up of Rachel and Puck in the water at the beach. She gasps.

"What's wrong?" He nuzzles his nose in her hair, breathing in the coconut shampoo that the hotel had.

"Look." She holds up her phone and he looks down.

"Shit."

She closes it and puts it back into her clutch, then turns to face him. "What are we doing?"

"What d'ya mean?" He looks into her eyes and sees that she's concerned.

"Look at the pictures, who knows what is being said about us right now, about you. Is this going to stop when we get back to LA? Will we be just friends? I don't want to stop hanging out with you or Finn or Mike. But someone took those pictures and we didn't even know. How will it be when we get back home?"

Puck puts his hands on either side of her face. "First off, calm the fuck down." He laughs. "Don't have a panic attack on the beach." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wanna keep getting to know you."

"Are you sleeping with anyone else?" She asks suddenly. He's taken aback from how it just fumbled out of her mouth like she didn't really think about it.

But now that he thinks about it, he hasn't even actually thought of another woman since he's been with Rachel. It may have only been a week, but he's gone from wanting her naked in his bed (which she is awesome at, thank you very much) to being her friend, nearly having a heart attack when she got hurt on the field, to building sandcastles with her. He was at the beach where it's bikini galore and he didn't notice any of them. "No. Are you?"

She looks at him shocked. "No! But, if we want to keep doing this, I'd like to be exclusive. You don't need to call me your girlfriend or anything, because we've known each other a week." She laughs. It feels like they've all known each other longer. "But, I know with your job it's stressful about your image and everything."

"I don't care. I've had some pretty shit awful things said about me. I think once someone called me a man whore on the cover of a magazine. In high school, yeah I slept around a lot. College too, but I'm older now, I have kids and shit who look up to me or something. I care a little more than to sleep with every girl that flashes me."

"Girls flash you?" Her voice sounds appalled.

"Um, maybe not the best thing to say right now." He turns her so they're sitting the way they were before then kisses her temple. His lips brushing up against it as he talks. "I just want you. We can figure everything else out later." He thinks of Finn's words. "Let's just let it go where it goes."

Rachel smiles and leans her head back on his shoulder, kissing underneath his jaw. "I haven't been wanted in a long time. Even when I was with Matt. He cared more about his job." Puck moves one of his hands up and down her side. "What about your audition?"

"I'll go up to New York tomorrow, change my flight. Get some rest then read over the script again. Think Finn's coming too."

She hums her okay, while Puck pulls her closer to him. His hand trails up her thigh under her dress. Her panties are wet and he moans. Rachel turns so she's on her knees and pushes him down into the sand, straddling his lap. Kissing up his neck and jaw, she lands near his ear. "Is this why you kept buying me a sex on the beach?" This girl is so fucking smart.

He pushes up her dress and pulls her to him, kissing her chin then kissing her hard. She tastes fruity. Their tongues fight for dominance as he slips his finger under her panties then against her folds. Her chest rubs against his and he just now notices that she has no bra on.

"Stupid dress." Rachel whispers against his lips and pulls it up so the fabric is settled on her hips. His eyes are wide as he looks down then slaps her ass. She moans.

"Could you be any more sexy right now?" Rachel rubs her hand over the bulge in his jeans.

"PUCKLEBERRY!" Rachel snaps her head up, Brittany is running over, her shoes in her hands, Santana is the same as Mike walks behind them laughing.

Puck groans and drops his head into the sand. His friends had the worst timing in the whole world. "Where's Finn?" He ignores whatever Brittany just yelled at them.

"He wasn't feeling good, so he went back to the hotel." Santana giggles. _Giggles. _She's wasted. And from the looks of it, so is Brittany.

Mike shrugs, but he's had about as much to drink as Puck. Rachel having a little bit more than them. Santana notices that Rachel's dress is up around her hips. She narrows her eyes at them then looks to Brittany.

"Skinny dipping."

Brittany's eyes light up. "Skinny dipping!"

The two strip down to their underwear and run towards the ocean. The guys are staring, even though Rachel is still on Puck's lap. She looks down at him and grins, standing up then running over to the ocean, dress still on. Brittany squeals.

"Rachel! Why aren't you naked?"

"You're technically not naked either Britt." She smiles and looks over at Santana who is just standing there.

Brittany starts to take off her panties when Mike yells at them. "All of you get dressed! I need to get her back to the room." He eyes her hungrily.

Rachel rolls her eyes at the girls protesting until Mike takes off his shoes and walks in to get them, throwing them both over his shoulder. "Get dressed!" He eyes them both until they do so and then head back towards the hotel.

"Let's head back to your room baby." Puck holds out his hand and leads Rachel to her room.

* * *

><p>Sunday around lunch time Puck walks around the suite. "Finn? Have you seen my phone?" his friend is nursing a cup of coffee with his sunglasses on.<p>

"No, check with San and Rach. They might know." Finn lays his head down on the counter.

"You're such a lightweight." Puck laughs and goes to the elevator. He knocks on the door and Mike opens it up.

"Sup?"

"Nothin. Do you know where my phone is?"

Mike looks around nervously. "Nope." He goes back towards Brittany's room. A few seconds later she's squealing.

"Hey Rach?" He calls into the hall as he goes towards her room. She's standing at the bed, looking over everything in her suitcase, in his plaid button up shirt he wore the other night.

"Yes?" She turns around and smiles.

"Have you seen my phone? I can't find it anywhere. I thought I had it next to me at the beach."

Santana walks into the room and holds out a device. "Here. I took it the other day because I didn't want to pop the Puckleberry bubble at the beach." She walks off as he looks down at it.

"What the fuck is a Puckleberry?" He asks absentmindedly while tapping his screen. "Holy shit, fifty missed calls?"

"It's Brittany's nickname for us that she came up with in the club. It's cute."

Puck sits on his bed then opens up his text messages. "I don't do cute baby, but I guess since Britt came up with it, it's fine. Why does Holly need me to call her so damn bad?"

Rachel looks at him while she zips up her suitcase then goes to the bathroom to gather all her toiletries. Puck is talking to someone on the phone when she walks back in, stuffing the smaller bag into a pocket, eavesdropping on his conversation.

"Hey, what'd ya want?" He pulls her onto his lap and kisses her neck. "What magazine? Well where did they get the pictures of Rachel?" She furrows her eyebrows at that. "Well, no…I know about Google, shit. I'm not fucking anyone else so I don't know what you expect me to say."

She rubs her hand along the back of his neck, after noticing that he tends to do that when he's nervous or anxious, and smiles at him. Then she moves to straddle his lap and pushes him down onto the bed and kisses along his jaw.

"Puck? Rach?" Santana calls out on the other side of their door.

"Yes San?" Rachel opens the door and looks at her friend while trying to keep her voice down.

"You two coming to the beach with us? It won't be too long since we gotta get to the airport in a bit."

She looks over to Puck and sees that he's still on the phone. "I think we'll stay here."

Santana looks between the two and smirks. "Alright Rach."

Making her way over to the bed, Puck puts his arm over his eyes. "Holly, what d'ya want me to do? I'm flying out to New York soon and you know that people start fucking rumors anyways. You're not going to see me fucking around with anyone else. Well whatever." He ends the call and throws it on the pillow. She pushes up his shirt and kisses her way up.

"Is everything okay?"

His hands find their way to her hair. "Holly just wants to know if we're official or not and what magazines and shit will say. Whatever." She pulls his shirt off.

"I can cheer you up."

"Yeah?"

"You're kind of sexy when you're using that tone of voice."

"There's no 'kind of sexy' anything about me babe. Just sexy all over."

Rachel kisses up his neck and finds his mouth while her hands find his belt buckle. His hands snake under her shirt and rubs his thumbs underneath her bra. He unbuttons her shirt, his shirt, off and makes quick work to get her bra off too. She pushes off his pants with her feet but he rolls them over so he's on top. Rachel reaches out to grab his pants for a condom while he kisses down her stomach. Moaning when he reaches her belly button, she puts the foil package into his hand while she pushes her shorts down.

Puck rolls the condom on and pumps it a few times while he stares down at Rachel, her hair fanning out over the bedspread. He leans over, kissing her neck when he enters her, both of them gasping. Rachel's hand grips the fabric while the other goes to the back of his neck. He's thrusting into her fast as her nails scrape against his scalp. Right when he hit her spot, she made a noise that he loves to hear from her.

"Faster Noah." She moved her hips along with his.

"Baby, hold on." He pulls out which makes Rachel whine, but he pulls her so she's standing over the bed and enters her from behind.

"Oh my God." She puts her head down while he thrusts into her faster than before.

He feels her walls tightening around him, so he reaches around and rubs her clit, her breathing coming in uneven pants until she screams his name and he's releasing into the condom. Puck sees the little bit of sweat on her back and leans forward to kiss it while he pulls out.

"You're so good." Rachel crawls back up the bed and leans her head down on one of the pillows.

Laughing, he crawls up behind her and pulls up the sheet. He's looking into her eyes and he can't help how beautiful she is after sex. He shouldn't like that feeling, usually he just bails. But she's looking at him with curious eyes. "What?"

"Are you coming back to LA after your audition?"

"Pretty sure we are. Still gotta make you watch that movie."

She pushes at his shoulder. "It looked like it has a lot of violence."

Puck rolls his eyes. "It is a war movie Rach. Plus it has Jews in it. You need to watch it, they're badass."

"Okay, but you have to make me popcorn." He raises his eyebrow at her but she just laughs and rolls onto her back.

They both fall asleep while everyone is at the beach but get woken up when Brittany runs into the room and hops onto the bed. The blonde doesn't even seem to notice that they're naked underneath the sheet.

"Finn says that we have to leave for the airport earlier than planned so that you and him can change your flight to New York."

"Thanks Britt." He smiles at her then changes to a smirk when she looks around the room and notice all the clothes on the floor.

"Oh!" She gasps and looks down. "I'm so sorry! I mean, I've seen Rach naked before, because you know, locker room." She glances at his chest. "Hurry and get dressed. We'll be waiting in the lobby." Brittany winks at them while Rachel collapses into a giggling fit.

"She's seen you naked?" He looks down at her as he zips up his jeans.

"Like she said, locker room." She shrugs and begins to button up his shirt again, tying it the way she did with his muscle shirt the first time they met. He loves that she'll wear his clothes but fit them to fit her body.

"You know, with my clothes on you, it makes me want to get naked all over again." He watches as she blushes while putting her hair up. Puck walks over to her and pulls her against him, kissing her hair.

"We better go." Rachel smiles brightly up at him and kisses his chin.

After Finn and Puck switch their tickets, they all go to security while the two go to return the rental car keys. They all meet up again and all say their temporary goodbyes. Rachel wraps her arms up around Puck's neck after she hugged Finn.

"So I guess I'll talk to you later? If you want."

He smirks. "Yep."

Santana, Brittany and Mike all stand off to one side that will lead to their terminal while Finn stands on the other. Puck and Rachel are kissing, not caring that anyone is waiting for them. Finally Finn clears his throat and Rachel looks back to him.

"I'm sorry." She smiles and hugs Puck one last time. "Have a safe flight."

"Pretty sure that's not up to us babe, but we'll let the Captain know."

Rachel rolls her eyes and smacks his arm. "Bye."

Puck and Finn watch as they walk off, knowing that Mike will make sure nothing will happen to them. Finn looks over at his friend. "Is it weird that we're protective over them?"

"Nope." He grins and grabs his duffel bag, leading them to their terminal on the other side of the airport.

* * *

><p>Rachel walks into her room and collapses on the bed. Her suitcase falls to the floor and she can hear Brittany flopping down onto her bed too. The clock on her nightstand says 9 p.m. She groans, slightly used to Miami's time. Her phone buzzes underneath her palm.<p>

_Noah: You at home?_

She smiles and sends a text back saying that she is but she's really tired. Santana walks in and puts her laptop in front of Rachel's face. "Look at this." She points to the screen.

Rachel sits up and looks at the laptop, a page is up with pictures of her and Puck. Them on the beach, at the nightclub and kissing at the airport. There was even one of them hugging Mike goodbye and the three of them getting into a cab.

"Should I be creeped out by this?"

Santana sighs and lays on the bed. "I don't know. Did you two even discuss what you are?"

"On the beach after we left the club. We're exclusive but that's all we really discussed." She lies down next and faces her friend. "Brittany and Mike are so cute together."

"Yeah they are."

"I didn't even know that they were texting and talking before the trip. Did you?"

"Nope. As long as she's happy though. I don't think I've seen her smile that much in awhile." Santana stretches then sits up. "I'm going to bed. Finn is supposed to call in a bit." She snatches up her laptop and saunters off.

Rachel laughs and follows Santana out, but goes to the bathroom to take a nice hot shower. Her head falls back as the steam surrounds her, soothing her aching muscles. She washes her body, her ribs still sore. Someone knocks on the door. "Hey Rach? You're phone is ringing."

"Can you answer it and tell them I'll be right there?"

"Sure thing."

She cuts off the shower and wraps a towel around her body then walks to her room. "Thanks Britt." She calls through the blonde's door.

"Hello?"

"Sup babe. Where were you?"

"In the shower." He moans on his side of the phone. "What are you doing?" She hangs her towel on the door knob then walks over for pajamas. Suddenly she misses Puck, so she throws her suitcase up on her bed.

"Laying in the room. Read over the script while you were still on the plane."

"Are you nervous?" Rachel pulls out the tank top she wore Friday night when her and Puck fell asleep watching movies. Then she moves to her dresser and pulls out some shorts.

"Baby, I don't get nervous."

Rolling her eyes and turning out the light but turning on the lamp, she lays down on her bed and crawls under the covers. "Then are you excited?"

"Fuck yeah I am. Finn got a call from the director. They cast the lead girl that would play my girlfriend in it. I'll be reading with her tomorrow."

"That sounds, interesting."

"You know the Jews in the original movie?"

"I can't say that I do Noah. I never watched it."

"What? Okay, when I get back home we're going to watch it. Have like a movie night or something. S'a good movie." She hums her agreement on the movie night but closes her eyes. "Rach, you awake?"

Puck looks at his phone then puts it up to his ear again. "Rach, baby?" He hears the sound of even breathing on the other line and smiles. Did he really just smile about her falling asleep on the phone? Shaking his head, he sets the alarm and plugs in his phone. The sound of her breathing is still filling his ear, so he says goodnight then hangs up. Sending her a text saying goodnight for her to wake up to.

He wakes up at nine a.m. on the dot and hops into the shower. Afterwards he goes downstairs to meet Finn for breakfast. "Hey." He mumbles quietly and drops the script and his phone on the table.

"Hey." Finn mumbles around his coffee mug. "Ready for this?"

"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be. Do you know who the chick is going to be?"

"No. Apparently they have a few other girls they want to audition, so the actress before won't be in the room reading with you. So whoever gets your part, which better be you, they'll probably see who has better chemistry with who." He smiles as a stack of pancakes is set in front of him.

"Alright man." Puck orders and sits back in his chair, closing his eyes.

Finn's phone vibrates on the table and he picks it up. Puck opens up an eye and looks over at him. "What do you want Quinn?" His eyebrows shoot up and he looks over to Puck. "How is that even possible? They didn't call me to ask about you. Are you using someone else as your agent? Is that fucking so? Fine. Get a new agent, I don't give a shit. I won't have to deal with you anymore but I'm telling Puck about this." He hands up the phone and throws it on the table, pushing his food away.

"What's going on Finn?"

"Quinn. She's trying out for the role. Trying out a new agent. Mercedes Jones. " Finn shakes his head. "You might have to read fucking lines with her. I can't fucking believe this." A waiter sets down Puck's food and eyes them both wearily. "Sorry." Finn looks away.

"You're shitting me right? Please tell me this is a God damn joke."

"I wish I could man."

"I gotta call Rachel. What if they make me kiss her or some shit in the audition?" He groans frustrated, picking up a piece of bacon and walking towards the lobby.

"Hello?" She says sleepily.

"Hey baby. Look, I gotta tell you something."

"Is everything okay?" He hears the sound of sheets ruffling around. "Did you already have your audition?"

"Nope, but look. Finn just got a call from Quinn."

"His ex?"

"Yep." He pops the 'P' then runs his hand over his face. "She's apparently trying out for the lead. I guess they want to see who has chemistry between the narrowed down people or some shit. I don't know. But they could ask us to kiss or something if I read with her, to see if we have chemistry. You understand that I'll have to act like I fucking like her right?"

"Of course Noah, it's your job. I just hope she fucks up." He laughs as she gasps at herself. "I'm sorry. That's so rude, I shouldn't wish something bad upon someone I don't even know."

"Nah, she's a bitch. Especially to Finn, but we'll talk about that later. I need some food before this thing. Maybe I'll just puke all over her."

"Okay. Good luck."

Puck laughs that she just said okay to him throwing up on Quinn during the audition. "Go back to sleep Rach. I'll call you later."

"Bye Noah."

He hangs up the phone and walks back to the table, seeing that Finn forced himself to eat. "What'd she say?"

"That she understands it's my job to try and like the bitch. God, I can't even think about that. It's going to give me a fucking migraine." He stabs at his eggs and tries to eat fast. Finn rubs his hands over his face.

"I'll have a fucking migraine too, thinking about you kissing my ex."

"It's not like I'm wanting to kiss her man."

"Imagine she's Rachel." Finn shrugs and asks for more coffee.

* * *

><p>Puck walks into the room for his audition. The director and producer shake his hand and tell him to have a seat. The actress is running late. "We're so glad that you decided to audition. We've had our eyes on you, hoping to pull you into a project." Everyone eases back into their seat.<p>

"Thank you. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be here and you guys thought of me. And the movie was badass. The script is great. I decided I wanted to audition before I even finished it."

The door opens and a very frazzle blonde enters. "I am so sorry I'm late." Puck flinches.

"No problem Miss Fabray. I'm sure you know Mr. Puckerman." The director motions his hand towards Puck.

"Sup Q." He smirks, his tone slightly icy and his face indifferent.

"Puck! How great to see you. Hope your vacation in Miami was wonderful." She kisses his cheek and lingers a moment too long.

"It was." He pulls away. "How was Hawaii?" He smirks when she tenses up. The directors don't notice anything though.

"Lovely. Good to see you two are refreshed and ready for this audition. If you two would open your scripts and go to page 40. Could you two act the scene followed by the kiss?"

"Of course!" Quinn says a little too happily.

They watch as the scene comes alive in front of them. Puck is reading perfectly while Quinn cries during a few lines like the script wants. He tosses the script away then pulls Quinn in for the kiss as directed. _Make it look real and pretend it's Rachel_. Quinn takes kissing him a bit too far but he pulls away, her looking up at him with wide eyes. Kissing Quinn, even attempting to pretend it was Rachel, was all wrong. He's going to have to kiss Rachel until neither of them can breathe when he gets back to LA.

"That was fantastic!" The director claps.

Huh, maybe Quinn is a better actress than he thought. The director talks about how they'll let their agents know anything. "Mr. Puckerman?" He turns around and faces the director. "Could you ask Mr. Hudson to step in for a moment?"

"Sure thing. Thanks again." He pushes past Quinn and locates Finn, who is happily texting Santana even though it's nearly 9 a.m. there. "They want to speak with you." Finn blinks and puts his phone away, walking by Quinn to the room they were just in.

The blonde sits next to him and smiles. "Can I help you?"

"You're a hell of a kisser Puck. Why didn't we hook up?"

Puck rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone, tapping the screen to open a message from Rachel.

_Rach: Coach called me and San in for early practice. Won' be out until about 4. Good luck. Xo_

He keys in a response, puts his phone up and crosses his arms over his chest. "I wouldn't stab Finn in the back. Especially not with you."

"Sure Puck. We all know you wanted me. Who don't you want though." She inspects her nails. "Is that Rachel girl the flavor of the week?" She gets up and stands next to him. "Can't wait to work you. We'll have a lot of fun." Quinn winks then walks away.

He glares at her back until she's out of sight then pull his phone out. Finn walks down the hall and sits next to Puck, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Good news and bad news."

"Good first, for the love of God." He leans back in his seat to forget what the ice queen just said to him.

"They want you. Role is yours." Puck pumps his fist in the air. "Yes! What's the bad?" He's unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"They're leaning towards Quinn."

"Finn…" He turns to his friend. "She just hit on me, playing some fucked up mind game." He points to his head. "And basically called Rach a slut." He pauses. "I know I don't have the best track record with women, but it's creepy that she found a way to fucking spy on us on vacation and even knows about Rachel. But if they want her, I don't think I could do this. Not with her."

"Look, I like Rach, she's great. But as your agent…this is too big to give up. Dude, fucking _Brad Pitt and Eli Roth_. You won't be getting anything huge like this anytime soon. They specifically wanted you."

"Fuck, you're right. Shit…" He groans. "Let's get back to LA. I need a drink and we need to make Rachel watch _Inglourious Basterds." _

"Wanna do it at the girls' condo?"

"Yeah. Britt isn't at practice yet, so we can tell Mike to call her and plan something."

Finn slaps his shoulder. "It'll be worth it."

* * *

><p>Puck walks into the condo, going straight to Rachel's room. Actually they all disperse into the designated rooms, Mike to Brittany's, Finn to Santana's. What's even going on with those two? Rachel is sitting on her bed with the laptop open, looking over plays that must have been emailed. He clears his throat.<p>

"Noah! Hi." She looks at her laptop and pushes it to the side.

He sits next to her, pulling her into a hug. Kissing her temple. "I got it."

Rachel pulls away and stares at him. He's smirking and trying to hide a smile. "Are you serious?"

"Yep."

She squeals and springs up on her bed, jumping up and down. "Oh my God!" Puck laughs as she jumps but then settles straddling his thighs, still standing, and tries to catch her breath. God she's hot.

He runs his hands up her smooth legs and tugs on her shorts. She gets down on her knees and leans over to kiss him. "I'm so proud of you." She says against his soft lips, caressing his cheek.

Puck pushes her away slightly. "What?"

"I'm proud of you?" She looks at the crease in between his eyebrows. "Did I say something wrong?"

Puck just stares at her. She's proud of him? For landing a part? The only time someone has said they were proud of him was at his college graduation and when he got his first part. And those were only from his ma and sister. She was proud that he didn't grow up to be a fuck up, stuck in jail or something. He watches as Rachel gets up and sits on her chair in the corner of her room, staring at him with shiny eyes. Shit, he hopes she isn't going to cry. Suddenly he gets up and kneels in front of her. "Why did you say that?"

"You wanted that part really bad and I could tell you were nervous. And this movie is going to be a big deal, I think. I'm happy for you and proud that you got it when they wanted you specifically."

He puts his hands on either side of her face and kisses her until she's out of air. Her eyebrows furrow. "I don't understand Noah." Her voice sounds so small compared to every other time she talked.

"No one has said that to me besides my mom and Sarah." He kisses her again and puts his forehead against hers. "Be my girlfriend."

* * *

><p><em>This was a bit choppier than I expected it to be, but I knew where I wanted it to go. Next chapter should be more interesting though :)<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Glee, LA Temptation, Inglourious Basterds (or anything from the movie), Dancing With the Stars, American Idol or Patron. If I did I'd probably be rich…**

**And I meant to add this last chapter but I forgot. The condo website is: highrises .com with the rest of the stuff after from chapter 3. I'm absolutely in love with it :D**

* * *

><p>It turns out, that 'will you be my girlfriend' sex with Rachel Berry is one word. Amazing. They did it once, but right after she was ready for round two. Rachel didn't even care that their friends were in the condo.<p>

"Noah, touch me." He was resting against the pillow after just finishing with her. Puck looks over at her with his eyebrow raised. "Please?" She bites her lip.

Puck leans over and runs his hand up her thigh. "Ready for round two already?" She whimpers when his finger teases her fold, feeling how wet she is. "Fuck Rachel." Her legs spread open wider and he inserts a finger. He teases her slowly, removing it slowly.

"God, Noah I need more." She throws her leg over his torso and scoots up.

He smirks and grips the back of her thighs, pulling her forward until he can lick her clit. She moans loudly and arches her back. One hand reaches up to her breast, massaging it then rubbing his thumb over her hardened nipple. Her hips thrust towards his mouth when he licks up her center. Puck can feel her thighs trembling. She's close. He inserts two fingers and while she fucks them, he sucks on her bundle of nerves. "Come for me Rach." Her head falls back, her hair falling onto his thighs.

She screams out his name and once she's done, she tries to catch her breath, reaching behind herself to rub her hand up his length. He's hard again, but how could he not be when he has her on top of him. Rachel eases back until she rubs against his cock, reaching over to her nightstand to roll a condom onto him. Once she does, she sits on him fast, and he moans loudly, grabbing her shoulders and pull her to him. He kisses her, Rachel sucks his tongue tasting herself and moaning. Her nipples rub against his chest and she moves her hips up and down.

What came out of Puck's mouth, turned Rachel on even more. And she was almost positive that Santana, Brittany, Finn and Mike were going to hate how loud she was probably going to get.

"Rach, ride me harder." He squeezes her thighs and she instantly does his request. Her hands find their way to the white metal frame that somewhat serves as a headboard and squeezes tight.

Even though she's riding him pretty roughly, Puck starts to thrust up into her. Gripping her hip and thigh, he feels her walls clenching around himself so he begins to rub her clit until she screams his name and he's releasing with her. Rachel collapses onto his chest, kissing his collarbone every now and then.

"You made me see stars." Puck laughs at her comment and pushes her hair back that's slightly wet in places from her sweating.

"I think I just saw black." Rachel pushes at his chest and stands up, a bit wobbly but then walks over to her closet.

Puck tosses the condom into the trashcan next to her nightstand and stands up, pulling up his jeans. He pulls on his shirt and walks over, wrapping his arms around her still naked waist. She's trying to decide on what to wear so he looks with her, then leans over to pluck out a shirt, the pink shirt from Disney that she bought, the white rabbit from _Alice in Wonderland _on it. Then he turns towards her dresser, opening up random drawers until he finds what he's looking for. White shorts and some lace panties and bra.

"Now stop thinking about it." He smirks and sits on the bed to pull on his socks and shoes.

Rachel rolls her eyes and puts on the clothing, but then feels something being thrown at her back. "What's this?" She picks up her knee socks and purses her lips at him.

"What? They're hot." He shrugs and watches as she pulls them up her legs. He moans and even though they're her uniform socks, they're still sexy as hell with what she's wearing.

Mike knocks and yells, literally yells, through the door. "When you two are done fucking around, the food just got delivered. We may not be able to hear you though because we all have ear plugs in."

Puck looks over as she blushes. "Don't listen to them. We'll probably need the ear plugs once you tell Britt and San that you're my girlfriend. Fuck, Finn and Mike might scream like girls too." He smirks as she tilts her head back and laughs.

She walks over and puts her arms around his neck. "My boyfriend is so sexy, I can't help but be loud." Rachel pecks his lips then opens her door, peeking down the hall. Their friends are sitting around the coffee table with Chinese cartons, plates and beer cluttering it.

They walk down the hall, holding hands and just stand in front of them. Puck crosses his arms over his chest. Rachel gets frustrated that they don't notice them and screams out, "Hey!" All their heads snap up and they take out their ear plugs one at a time. "First off, where did you guys even get ear plugs?"

"For the plane when Amanda falls asleep and we're stuck near her. She snores pretty loud." Brittany smiles but then frowns at Rachel. "You two were really loud. I feel bad for our neighbors."

"There's a good reason for it." Rachel blushes and looks to Puck.

He rolls his eyes. "I asked Rachel to be my girlfriend and that was her reply." Puck laughs when she turns as red as a lobster. He pulls her into a hug.

As he predicted, Brittany screams loudly and Santana squeals a little but then laughs as Puck plugs his ears. They both get up and hug Rachel, then Puck hugs them back. They all look to Finn and Mike who have their jaws open.

"You…what?" Finn stares at him.

"Asked Rachel to be my girlfriend." He says slowly and stares at Finn, wondering if he's okay.

"I think he's catatonic." Santana laughs and moves her way over to Finn, shoving his shoulder but he doesn't move.

"You. Not single?" Mike stares at him then looks to Rachel.

"Are you sure they like me?" Rachel looks up to him nervously, her eyes slightly shiny.

"Alright fuckers. Stop it, you're worrying her." Puck pulls her in close to him but looks to Brittany who looks like she's about to cry. "Oh God. Britt what's wrong?" He pulls her into his other side as she starts to cry.

"Britts, Rach, don't cry." Santana looks at them both and it looks like she's trying to hold back her own tears.

Puck pushes the blonde and his small brunette together then walks behind Mike, slapping the back of his head. "Get your head out of your ass and apologize to our girls for making them cry."

Mike finally snaps out of it and looks from Puck to the two girls. "Britt, I'm so sorry." He holds out his arms and she runs over, sitting in his lap. "Why are you crying?"

"Why don't you and Finn like Puckleberry? They're awesome. And Rachel is my best friend, how could you worry her like that?"

"I'm just surprised that Puck has a girlfriend, that's all. He hasn't had one since high school. It just means that she's really special. Of course we like her." Mike stands up and pushes Brittany towards Puck, who grabs onto him, then walks over to Rachel. He holds out his arms like he did with her best friend. "I'm really happy for you two." She smiles up at him and hugs him tightly.

"Thank you Mike." She looks over to Finn and bites her lip.

Finn is looking at Santana and babbling like a baby. The Latina is just staring at him, confused and her eyebrows scrunched together. Puck ignores him and sits on the floor, motioning for Rachel to come over. She sits down and starts to pile food onto her plate, Puck doing the same. Santana eventually rolls her eyes at Finn and starts the movie.

It just gets to the part where the Jews have come into the screen with the German hostages and everyone is done eating, nursing beers. Santana is leaning against the loveseat, Mike and Brittany sitting on the end of the couch cuddling. Puck is leaning against the couch, Rachel leaning into him and his arm is hanging over her right shoulder. Right when the Bear Jew (Puck's favorite character in this movie) raises the bat to hit the guy, Finn screams.

"OH MY GOD!"

Rachel jumps and drops her beer, breaking on contact with the hardwood floor. She puts her hand over her chest and everyone snaps their head to Finn. His eyes are wide, jaw slightly ajar.

"You two are officially a couple?"

"Dude, you're just now joining the fucking program?" Puck is irritated that they'll have to go back a few scenes for the girls to catch up in the movie.

"You need to tell Holly."

"Can't that wait? I'd like to enjoy watching this fucking awesome movie, hang out with my girl and my friends then relax a little."

"Whatever. Do it soon. And congrats." He gives them a lopsided grin then looks up to the TV and finishes his food.

"Pause the movie right before he hits the guy. I'm going to clean this up. Rach, don't move since you don't have any shoes on. There's fucking glass everywhere."

Brittany sighs happily and looks to Rachel. "Puckleberry is awesome."

"Yeah they are." Mike joins in and kisses the top of Brittany's head while Puck cleans up the mess.

When it gets to the slower part of the movie, where the girl is working at the theatre, Santana gets up and brings out the shot glasses, salt shaker, lime wedges and Patron. "We got things to celebrate and in true…us…fashion, Britts, Rach and I bought some tequila after practice." She pours the first round of shots then holds hers up. "To Puck on his fucking awesome role he just got and to Puckleberry!"They all raise their glasses and clink them together.

Hours later, they're all laughing when the movie is over. Brittany and Santana are quoting the 'eye-talian' parts while Finn just laughs hysterically on the floor. Mike begins to join in, laughing and trying to quote things but it comes out as a jumbled mess of babbling.

Rachel looks at her friends then leans over to suck on Puck's earlobe and bunches up the front of his shirt. She whispers into his ear, "Can I call you the bear Jew in bed tonight? You would look so sexy dressed like him. Your muscle shirt and suspenders. God I want you." She kisses down his neck then up his jaw.

"Are you horny baby?" He looks down into her eyes as she nips at his jaw.

"And you in that military uniform." She straddles his lap. "Take me to my room. Now."

Puck lifts her up, legs wrapping around his waist. "We're going to bed."

Everyone looks up at them. Brittany seems to get the idea of what they're going to do, so she pulls at Mike's hand. "Mike, I want to have sex too." Brittany goes into their room with Mike waving at the rest of them.

"C'mon Finn, you can stay in my room." Santana pulls him up and drags him towards her room. "Turn everything off." She yells back at them.

Puck looks around while Rachel's lips are still fastened to his neck. He somehow manages to turn the TV off, make sure the door is locked and all the lights are off. How did he get stuck doing this when he didn't live here? And especially since they were going to go disappear first. But his lips finds her and he navigates to her room, closing the door and dropping her onto the bed.

Rachel strips down and looks up at Puck. "C'mere Bear Jew." She bites her lips as his eyes get darker. He crawls over her and licks her lips then kisses her deeply. "You gonna hit me with that Louisville slugger?" She giggles and pulls off his shirt.

"God. As many times as you want."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Puck and Rachel sit in the kitchen checking their email on their phones. Finn and Santana walk in, both grabbing coffee and a muffin that Rachel made. Santana has her head on the table and mumbles.<p>

"What?" Puck looks over at her.

She moves so her cheek is on the table and looking at him. "I said, I hate you Rach, why can't you get hangovers."

Rachel laughs and gets up to get her friend some aspirin. "Here San." She kisses the top of her hair and sits back down.

"I love you." Santana pops the pills into her mouth and drinks it down with coffee.

Puck laughs at the two and looks back down at his phone. Finn looks over to his friend. "Did I imagine this, or did I hear someone scream '_Teddy fuckin' Williams knocks it out of the park! Fenway Park on its feet for Teddy fuckin' Ballgame! He went yardo on that one, out to fuckin' Lansdowne Street!_' last night? I know it was in the movie but…I just remember hearing it in my dream."

Puck starts to laugh really hard and even Rachel can't help but giggle too. "I think you heard it in your dream man." Puck looks down at his phone, trying to stop laughing but then instantly stops.

"What's wrong Noah?" Rachel looks over to him.

"Holly texted me saying that some girl is claiming she was with me in New York yesterday and went to a magazine about it."

"You need to tell her about you and Rach. Make an official statement and that should cool down on some things." Puck gets up and walks out onto the patio to make a call.

Rachel finishes her coffee and stretches her arms up. She looks to Puck when he comes back in. "What time do you have practice?"

"At two. Is something wrong?"

"No, but I figured we could meet Holly for lunch to tell her about our relationship. And I think she wants to work something out about getting the news out about me getting the role. What do you think Finn?"

"Yeah. The role is yours and I'm sure the director and producer won't mind. It'll get some hype up about the movie." Finn's phone rings at that exact moment. He lifts his eyebrows and walks to the living room. After a few minutes they hear the phone hit the ground and he walks back to the table. No phone in hand.

"What's wrong?" Santana looks at him, putting her hand on his forearm.

"Quinn got the role."

Puck spits out coffee everywhere, apologizing to Rachel and Santana while getting up to get a paper towel. "This is such bullshit." He mutters while cleaning up the brown liquid then throwing it in the trash. "I need to go work out."

"Let's wake up Mike then. It's gym day anyways." Finn gets up and walks over to Brittany's room.

"I'll come get you around eleven alright?" He kisses Rachel's temple and nods to Santana. The taller girl groans at him and puts her head back down on the table.

"It's too early." Santana says to no one in particular.

"We're usually up around 8 anyways San." Rachel puts her dishes up in the sink.

"Not when we all kill a bottle of Patron." Rachel laughs and walks down the hall to the bathroom. She hops into the shower and hears the guys leaving the apartment.

* * *

><p>Puck is spotting Mike on the bench while Finn stands off to the side. "So you're telling me that Quinn is going to be playing your girlfriend in this movie?"<p>

"Yep. She'll probably fuck up kissing scenes just so we have to keep doing them over and over again. Quinn got a little too into it during the audition."

"She was always a good kisser though." Finn shrugs, trying to be helpful.

"Dude, she's alright but Rachel is so much better."

"So you and Rachel huh?" Mike puts up the bar and wipes his face. They all make their way to the treadmills next. "Gotta say, I'm happy you didn't fuck this up."

"He hasn't fucked up yet." Finn adds in.

Puck reaches over and punches his arm. "She's different. We were making out after I told her I got the part and she said she was proud of me."

Finn nearly falls over on his treadmill after he loses his footing. "She what?"

"Are you serious?" Mike looks over at him, jumping up on the sides so he isn't running for a minute, Finn doing the same. "She really said that?"

"Yeah. Do you know how fucking long it's been since someone said that to me?"

"Your first movie." They say at the same time.

"Exactly. It's like she knows what to say at the right moment." Puck picks up the pace, puts in his headphones and starts to run a little faster.

Finn and Mike exchange a look before they plug in their headphones and start run again.

* * *

><p>When Rachel walked into the restaurant she was expecting to see an ugly girl with glasses for a publicist that Puck wouldn't want to throw up against a door to fuck. But instead she see is greeted by a girl with curly light brown hair and bright ocean blue eyes. She kisses Puck's cheek and Holly has to be at least 5'6" without heels on with legs a model would kill for and a 34 C bra. She could be on the cover of <em>Playboy<em>.

"Rachel! It's so nice to meet you." Holly pulls her into a big hug. She didn't hear him introduce them. The girl pulls back but keeps her hands on Rachel's shoulders as she looks her up and down. "Hmm.." She smiles as Puck sits down.

The petite girl takes a good look at Holly when they sit down. Tight tank top, designer jeans, sunglasses and high heels. Does she make all her money off Puck alone? Holly sets her phone on the table and puts her purse on the back of her chair. Also designer. Rachel suddenly feels cheap in her boots, jeans and shirt, ready to go to practice and sweat off all her makeup.

"Rach?" Puck looks over to her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What would you like to drink?" He looks up to the waiter.

"Oh, water. Thanks." The waiter smiles and looks to Holly.

"White wine." Early much? Rachel holds back rolling her eyes.

"And you sir?"

"Water's good." Puck puts his hand on Rachel's thigh. "Alright, so how do you wanna do this?"

"Well you two have been photographed together already and they know you're not worried about PDA." Her eyes flash to Rachel. "So we can just confirm to a few sites and get word out that way. It'll spread like wildfire. Just go out and get photographed holding hands, acting like a couple."

"Alright, sounds easy enough." Puck winks at Rachel and all she does is smile.

Holly taps her screen. "And you have a game on Friday correct?"

"Yes, I do."

"Great. Puck can go. Could you kiss before the game so that someone will capture it? This will get your team a lot of attention as well."

"You want me to stage when I kiss Noah?"

"Noah?" Holly looks between the two carefully.

"Yeah, she calls me by my name. Is that a problem?" Puck looks at her with an eyebrow arched.

"Of course not." Holly smiles and taps away on her screen more.

"Excuse me, I have to go to the restroom. Noah, could you order me a house salad with Italian dressing if he comes back out?"

"Sure babe." Puck smirks at her.

Rachel hurries to the bathroom and pulls her phone out, pressing a number on speed dial. "San?"

"_Whatcha need Rach?"_ Her friend mumbles on the other line.

"This woman has been turning her nose up at me since the moment I got here."

"_I'm sure you're exaggerating Rachel."_

"She looks like a freaking model! She gave me the stink eye when I said Noah."

"_Now I know you're full of shit."_

"She wants us to stage a kiss on Friday before the game and to deliberately get photographed!" She whispers harshly.

"_You are dating an actor. This shit is going to happen."_ She sighs. "_Want me to 'run into you guys' so I can check her out?"_

"Would you?"

"_The shit I do for you Berry."_

"I love you! I'll text you the restaurant name. We're sitting outside."

Rachel walks back outside and sees Holly with her head back and laughing while Puck keeps explaining something. She sits down quietly and takes a sip of her drink. Holly is talking animatedly about a client of hers and some stuff that she had to get the girl out of. Puck is laughing when she sees Santana out of the corner of her eye. Rachel just smiles as her salad is placed in front of her, waiting for Puck to notice Santana. It didn't even seem like it was that long since she called her best friend, but the two were busy talking about other things.

"San?" Puck waves her over.

"Hey guys. I was doing some shopping before practice. I forgot you two were getting lunch." She smiles as nicely as she can and leans against Rachel's chair.

"Sit down and get something to eat." Puck nods to the chair next to Holly. He waves over the waiter. "San, this is my publicist Holly, Holly this is Santana."

"Rachel's best friend. Well one of her best friends."

"It's so nice to meet you. I was just telling Rachel here that this could get a lot of publicity for your team."

"_This?_" Rachel looks over at Santana with her eyes wide.

Puck looks down at his cell phone ringing. He picks it up and kisses Rachel's temple before getting up to go answer it. Santana looks over at her friend then back to Holly. The girl is still going on about how Puck, Finn and Mike being at the games will be great when a light goes off above Santana's head. She looks from Holly to Puck after Holly glances at his back.

"Look, Rachel doesn't need to stage her kisses with Puck. They kiss all the time, really it gets kind of boring and disgusting after awhile. So I think you need to back off a little bit and just let them be a couple. They're not robots." Santana picks a crouton off Rachel's plate and sits back in her chair. Rachel is looking over at Puck when Santana leans in to Holly. "And you better stop checking out my best friend's boyfriend or else I'll tell him he needs a new publicist."

"What was that about?" Rachel looks to Puck when he sits down.

"It was the director. They want to send me up to Camp Pendleton in two weeks to train with some Recon Marines for the movie."

"For how long?" Rachel smiles up at him and puts her hand on his forearm while he takes a bite of his pasta.

"About two to three weeks I think."

"That will be great! A few weeks apart and a big reunion." Holly's eyes light up and Santana smacks her arm.

"Remember what I told you." Santana looks at her pointedly. Her friends give her a weird look and she shrugs, looking at her nails. "C'mon Rach. It's almost one and we need to go home and change for practice. I can give you a ride."

"Shit, I forgot about that. Sorry baby." Puck pulls her over and kisses her. "Go with San and I'll get lunch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. Wanna come over later? We can talk about all this publicity shit."

"Of course." Rachel kisses him deeply then pulls away to walk away with Santana.

"You know that those two have done the nasty right?" Santana looks at Rachel and stops right outside the restaurant.

"What?" Rachel looks back at them. Puck seems to notice her so he winks.

"She was lingering on his back when he was on the phone and you were looking at him. But I told her not to force you two to do anything."

"Thank you San. And it's in the past. Unless she does something otherwise, I'm going to try and put it out of my mind." She smiles and links her arm with her best friend.

"That's my girl."

* * *

><p>Puck is laying on his couch watching some show about Marines trying to get into the Recon team on TV. Some of the shit he might have to do looks like it's going to suck, but he works out so it shouldn't be a problem right? There's a knock on the door and he pauses it, jumping up and throwing the remote on the coffee table.<p>

He opens the door and sees Rachel standing there with grocery bags. "Hey baby." Puck pulls her in for a kiss.

"Hi. I figured I would cook since you bought lunch. How does lasagna sound?" She makes her way to the kitchen.

"Sounds great, but you don't need to cook for me Rach. We haven't been dating that long."

"So?" She looks around for pans to use.

"I'm just sayin." He smirks and walks back over to the couch.

"What are you watching? I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Puck snorts at how she could possibly be interrupting anything. All he's doing is watching TV. He turns the show back on and after twenty minutes Rachel comes and sits next to his torso.

"Military channel?"

"Just something about Marines trying to get into the Recon group. Kind of like the Navy Seals or Special Forces. Figured since I'll be training with them I could see what I might have to do." He tugs at her waist to make her lay down with him. Her calves brush against his, and her thighs rubbing the silky material of his gym shorts. Shorts again for her, God he loves her legs.

"Would you have to wear that uniform?"

"Dunno, maybe."

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour." Rachel turns so her back is against his chest, watching the show that he has on.

Puck runs his fingers up her thigh, over the spot that makes her whimper when they're making out. She squirms slightly but leans her head down on his bicep. His hand sneaks up her shirt, brushing over her ribs then moving underneath her bra.

"Noah…"

"What?" He kisses the back of her neck.

"Dinner is going to be ready soon. And you want to finish this show."

"We can pause it and finish it while we eat."

Rachel rolls over on the couch and looks up at him. "You're so hard to say no to." Puck grinds his hip into her thigh. "You're so gross Noah." She laughs but kisses him anyways. He pulls her up and bends her over the couch, letting her shorts drop to the ground along with his shorts.

"Shit, I need a condom."

"I'm on the pill Noah, just do it."

Puck pushes into her, moaning against her shoulder blade when he can feel how wet she is without a condom on. He pulls back out slowly and pushes into her again. Rachel arches her back and pushes back into him.

"Harder baby." She chokes out.

Rachel calling him baby? Completely makes him harder as he thrusts into her harder. His hands settle onto her shoulders, feeling her walls tremble around him. He can't believe how turned on she can get instantly.

"Baby, I'm so close."

"Touch yourself." He says gruffly, giving it to her harder. Rachel's hand finds its way down to her clit, rubbing herself until she's screaming his name. Right when he releases the oven timer goes off.

Rachel leans over the arm of the couch, trying to catch her breath when she looks over her shoulder to him. "Dinner's ready."

Puck laughs and pulls up his shorts to go turn the oven off then grab a washcloth for Rachel to clean off with. Once she's done, they sit in front of the couch to finish his show. After he finishes his food, he puts his feet up on the coffee table and actually pays attention to the TV, soaking in all the information he can about the kind of exercises they have to do.

"Are you going to try and put those into your workout?" Rachel curls up against his side.

"I think so. It can't be too bad."

"That looks awful though, they're practically crying." She looks up to him.

"Well, like they say. Pain is weakness leaving the body." He shrugs and puts his arm around her. "I'll be fine babe."

Rachel turns towards him. "Are you coming to the game on Friday?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want to miss your games unless I absolutely had to."

She rolls her eyes. "You just don't want to miss all the girls in lingerie."

"I don't want to miss you in lingerie." He wiggles his eyebrows and kisses her.

"So about everything that Holly said..."

Puck lays on the couch, one leg up and the other on the floor, pulling Rachel against his chest. "Oh yeah, what were you thinking about it all?"

"I'm not comfortable with her thinking that this is just some publicity stunt. I mean, staging our kisses at the games? It's just a little overboard. I don't want our relationship to feel like a job." She lays her head against his chest, smiling when he kisses the top of her head.

"I wouldn't do that anyways. Making out with you in public is not a problem for me." He feels her laughing against his chest, burying her head into his shirt. "Enough serious talk, let's get back to the show."

"Okay." She smiles and lays down, her head on his thigh.

* * *

><p>The day after their win against Minnesota, Brittany and Rachel are sitting outside of an ice cream shop that they love. Santana left after the game to drive home to Las Vegas while Rachel and Brittany went to celebrate with the guys at the bar they all met at the first time.<p>

"Do you think Santana would bring us back those really cool lollipops from Paris while she's back home?" Brittany licked her ice cream as they sat outside.

"I think so. Do you think we should text her to be sure? Maybe she could go to the M&M place too."

"Definitely. I just can't believe her sister is having a baby! I know it's only the shower but still. A little guy to come visit Santana and us on the weekend. So exciting. How are things with Puck going?"

"We're great. I just can't believe he's leaving for training soon." Rachel falls back into her seat and licks the ice cream that's threatening to leave her waffle cone. "What about you and Mike? You could've told me that you two were talking before we left for Orlando you know."

"I really wanted to Rach, but I was scared. He's so different! But not in a bad way. Mike is so sweet and caring. Guess what he offered me?" Rachel looks at her nervously. Brittany rolls her eyes. "When the season ends, instead of trying to find a tour to dance on, he's going to let me teach his classes while he's on Dancing With the Stars. Can you believe it?"

"Wow. That's amazing!" Rachel sighs. "I don't know what I'm going to do after the season. We're halfway done. I need to look for something, San is going to do her freelance photography thing. Finn could probably help her get some work or something."

"Do American Idol. The tryouts will end after the championship game. You're in LA so it's not like you'll have to travel somewhere crazy for it. I've seen the Dream Ticket sitting on your dresser."

"But if I do that, then I won't have any income. I've been saving up but I just don't know Britt."

"Don't be silly. I think when contestants make it to the top ten, they get paid each episode. Plus me and San won't let you starve or anything. Neither will your dads. They'll be ecstatic Rach! We could all go and cheer for you. It'd be amazing."

"Maybe you're right." Rachel bites her lip and tosses the rest of her ice cream.

"Of course I'm right."

"But Mike will be on Dancing With the Stars at the same time. Won't it be hard for you guys to cheer on two different people?"

"No. We can just go see his show one week and see yours the next. Alternate watching them on TV. It'll be easy." Brittany smiles and finishes off her ice cream, sighing contently.

"Let's go shopping. I need to look for some new jeans."

Brittany jumps up and tosses her ice cream cup into the trash and walks next to Rachel. They pass a table by a restaurant when a girl steps out in front of Rachel.

"You're Rachel Berry right?"

Rachel smile curiously at the woman in front of her. "Yes, why?"

The girl takes her drink and throws it in Rachel's face. "What the fuck was that for?" Brittany yells and stands in front of Rachel.

"You're ruining a lot of women's chances of sleeping with Puck." She walks back to her table.

Brittany hears a sniffle come from behind her. "Oh Rach." She wipes a tear away and looks around. They aren't too far from the guys' apartment building, so she pulls out her phone and calls a cab. On the way there, Rachel just sits there, staring down at her lap. "Rachel?" Brittany says quietly and reaches for her hand.

The cab stops in front of the building and Brittany pays quickly. She leads Rachel up to the hallway, but when she knocks on Finn's door (she texted Mike earlier and they were all at Finn's place watching a game) Rachel slides down the wall and sits on the floor. Finn opens the door and smiles at her. "Hey Britt! I didn't know you guys were coming over."

Brittany looks at him sadly then down the hall to Rachel. He looks over and instantly runs over to her. "Rachel?" He squats down and rubs his thumb over her cheeks but more tears fall down. "What happened?" He looks to Brittany.

"We were just eating ice cream and enjoying the day together when we walked by a restaurant and some girl asked if she was Rachel Berry. She said yes and the girl just threw her drink in Rach's face. She said that Rachel was ruining every woman's chances of sleeping with Puck. She's been staring at her lap since we got in the cab and I brought her here. I thought Puck might be able to help but…" She trails off and has a tear trailing down her cheek. "Why would they do this to her Finn?"

He looks down at Rachel and helps her up. He carries her bridal style into the door where the guys are smiling and looking over, but their smiles drop the instant they see Rachel. Mike walks over to Brittany and asks what happened. Puck sits there, staring at Finn. The taller man looks at Puck then takes Rachel down the hall into the bathroom. The door closes and he comes back out and looks to Brittany and Mike.

"Maybe you should tell Puck what happened."

"No, Rachel can tell him. But I do want to know this." Brittany steps towards Puck. "Every time I go out with Rachel, am I going to have to worry about women who want to fuck you try and hurt her? Throwing things is one thing but what if someone gets violent? Fix this." Brittany walks out of the apartment towards Mike's. He looks to his friends then runs after her.

Rachel walks out, her hair wet but still staring at the ground. She walks up to the guys and finally looks up at them. "Noah, could we go to your apartment and talk?" Puck swallows nervously and nods. She nods too then stands up on her toes to kiss Finn's cheek. "Thank you."

Puck closes the door behind them and walks to his room. Rachel silently follows and leans against his dresser. He's rummaging through his closet for something. "Someone threw their drink on me, saying I'm messing up their chances of sleeping with you." She looks down at the ground, not knowing that Brittany already kind of told him what had happened.

"What?" He finds what he's looking for and walks over to Rachel.

"Is this going to happen all the time? Even your publicist hates me." She looks down at her wet shirt and scrunches her nose. Puck hands her the shirt he has in his hand. The front says McKinley High Titans and on the back a big 20 with Puckerman across the shoulders. She smiles.

"I don't know if it will, but they're dumb bitches. I don't want to have sex with them though Rachel. You're my girlfriend. And Holly doesn't hate you."

"She inspected me like a piece of meat Noah. And Santana thinks that you two hooked up because her eyes were lingering all over your…" She hesitates. "Ass."

Puck laughs. "You're hot when you cuss baby."

She bites her bottom lip before gathering the strength to ask what she really wanted to know. "Did you two sleep together?"

He looks at the ground then over to his bed. "It was a long time ago Rach."

"She still wants you." Rachel looks away and closes her eyes.

Puck sighs and walks in front of her, putting his finger under her chin so that she has to look at him. "Open your eyes and listen carefully. It doesn't matter. I have you now. You're amazing." He smiles when the corners of her lips turn up. "It's not like she's great at sex anyways."

Rachel looks down at the shirt and puts it on top of the dresser. "Let me show you how much better I am than her." She smiles seductively up at him. "I'm really sticky and I need a shower." Puck stares at her with his jaw slightly dropped. Rachel is walking away in tight skinny jeans, her bra and wet hair. She looks over her shoulder. "You coming?"

* * *

><p><em>I like this chapter, but I don't? That doesn't make sense haha. Let me know what you guys think.<em>


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Glee. Or like anything else in this story that could get me sued :)**

**_Thank you guys for the reviews and alerts. They make me want to write more and update faster!_  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The night before Puck had to leave for training, he stayed with Rachel in the condo while Brittany stayed with Mike and Santana went to Vegas for her sister's delivery, but only because her mother made her.<p>

Puck hands Rachel another beer while they watch a movie. He settles into the couch, throwing up his legs as Rachel lays in between them. He massages one of her shoulders, getting the knot out from practice earlier. She moans and drops her head down. "How have you gotten so many knots?" Puck puts down his beer and starts to work them out.

"New workouts." Rachel moans then hisses, jerking forward from his grip.

"What's wrong?" He pulls her back slowly, avoiding her shoulders.

"I have a bruise or something there. Thank you though." She moves around to kiss him then faces back to the TV. "We've been together for about a month now." She says quietly.

Puck grunts to know he heard her. "Doesn't seem like it. Are we doing the monthly anniversary stuff?"

Rachel laughs. "No, I was just saying that it's been a month."

"You still happy?"

"Of course I am!" Rachel turns and glares at him.

"I'm just teasing you baby." He pulls her closer and kisses her. "I'm really happy Ray."

"Ray?" She smiles.

"God, I think I've grown a vagina." He sighs and runs a hand down his face. "You're kinda like a ray of sunshine in my life. We're great together, well I think so, and since we've been together a lot of good shit has happened."

She smiles like he gave her the cutest puppy on the planet. "I love that Noah. You're so sweet." Her thumb traces his bottom lip. "I was thinking of telling my fathers about us soon."

"Yeah?" He tucks some hair behind her ear.

"If you don't mind."

"You can tell whoever you want babe."

"Will you tell your family?" She looks at him nervously.

"Maybe after training. My mom has always gotten on to me about dating a Jewish girl ever since I started to notice boobs. So if I tell her about you, she might call the Rabbi to get us married next month."

Rachel laughs and puts her hand on his arm. He can't help but smile. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't Googled and saw all the gossip about us already."

"She might hate my job though."

"You're Jewish, she wouldn't care. But it probably is better if I tell her myself. I'll do it when I get back okay?"

"You're amazing." She leans forward and kisses him. "Oh, I wanted to tell you before you left, I'm going to try out for American Idol. But I'm worried about income since they only get paid when they make it to the final ten. Well from what Britt told me, she convinced me I should do it."

"That's amazing. And I think you'll make it to the final ten baby. And even though I'm sure this won't happen, if you don't make it, you'll figure something out. Finn could hire you as an assistant or something. Hell I could hire you to help me keep up with all my shit." He winks at her.

"I'm so lucky to have you. And thank you for being so supportive."

"Just repaying the favor babe." He finishes off his beer and sets it on the table.

"Are you ready for bed?"

"Kinda wanted to get you naked before I'm stuck with a bunch of marines for three weeks."

"I didn't say that we would go to sleep right away even if you do have to wake up early to drive." She bites her lip and smiles coyly at him.

"You're so fucking amazing." Puck stands up and pulls her towards her bedroom, turning off the TV and making sure the door is locked and the lights are off. Rachel giggles and runs to her room, him jogging behind her.

The next morning Puck wakes up and stretches. He kisses Rachel's bare shoulder and moves out of the bed quietly so he won't wake her up. He's rinsing shampoo off his head when the bathroom door opens.

"Noah?" She says sleepily.

"Yeah baby? Did I wake you up?"

"Sort of, I rolled over and you weren't there."

Puck opens the shower door and motions for her to come join him. Rachel strips quickly and enters. "I hate that you're leaving."

"I know it's going to suck, but I'll call when I can. But it's part of my job."

Rachel runs her hands down his chest, over his muscles and mumbles a quiet "I know."

"I'll miss you Ray." Puck smiles and hugs her close to him, moaning when her breasts rub against his wet skin.

"Do you have time for a quickie?" She presses a kiss to his chest.

"Fuck yes I do." He kisses down her neck. "But we did that a lot before bed, so I really just want to taste you." Puck gets onto his knees and pulls her leg over his shoulder.

"Mm Noah." One of her hands lands on the crown of his head and the other finds its way to the glass door.

"You taste so good Rach."

She gasps as he flicks his tongue over her. "Right there baby." Her fingers grip the little hair that he has on his head. His fingers insert into her and her legs are threatening to fall beneath her. Puck pushes her towards the bench on the shower so she'll sit down.

Once she's sitting, he pulls her legs up over his shoulders and goes back to work. Rachel's head falls back against the tile when he puts in a third finger and rubs her bundle of nerves with his thumb. She moves her hips to him and arches her back, both hands finding his neck. His hand slides up her side, cupping her breast and pinching her nipple.

"Come for me Ray."

Rachel closes her eyes and sees white spots forming as she comes around his fingers. His nickname for her sending her over the edge. Her hands fall from his neck and to the bench while she tries to control her breathing. His fingers pull out and she automatically just wants him close to her.

"Your turn." She looks up at him and reaches for his hand, sucking in one of his fingers.

"Baby, as much as I would love for you to get me off, I really don't have time." He leans down and kisses her deeply, erasing the pout from her face.

"Okay then. I'll be in my room." She pecks him and gets out of the shower, toweling herself off.

Rachel lays on the bed while Puck gets ready and packs his toiletries into his duffel bag. After setting the bed by the door, he sits on the bed next to Rachel and kisses her. "I'll let you know when I get there."

"Okay. Our game is in Cleveland this weekend. I'll text you when we get there, even if you can't respond."

"Good. As long as you're safe." He leans down and kisses her, pulling out a whimper as he licks her bottom lip. "See you in a few weeks Ray."

"Bye baby." She smiles and pulls the quilt up. He picks up his duffel bag and is about to walk out the door when she sits up. "Noah?"

"Hm?" He turns towards her.

"Can I go get your old high school shirt to sleep in?" She bites her lip nervously.

Puck smirks. "Sure. Finn and Mike have keys, they'll let you in." He winks at her, loving that she wants to sleep in his shirt. "Bye baby."

"Bye Noah. Be careful!" She listens for the lock to turn before she rolls over to go back to sleep.

* * *

><p>Wednesday afternoon, Rachel gets a seat towards the back of the plane with Brittany and Santana. "Rach you should've seen him! He's got me wrapped around his finger already." Santana settles back into her seat.<p>

"Most babies can do that San." Rachel laughs and takes her seat next to Brittany, facing Santana.

"But he got all the beset Lopez genes and Cam's height. He has long ass legs too."

"He'll be a heartbreaker." Brittany smiles. "Just like his Aunt San. Do you think Finn could help you get some photography jobs after the season?"

Santana waves her hand at the heartbreaker statement. "We talked about it and he said he would look around since he doesn't have too much to do with Puck and Mike. Especially since he doesn't work for that Quinn bitch anymore." Santana huffs out her frustration.

"What's going on with you two anyways? He's slept in your room, have you two done anything?" Brittany moves her eyebrows up and down.

Rachel notices Santana's faint blush. "You haven't have you?"

"We haven't. But we know a lot about each other. Like how his dad died when he was a baby and Puck's dad left. The two bonded then they met Mike in middle school. I like getting to know him Rach, but I do wish he'd get over Quinn already."

"We're happy for you San. And when he is ready, you two will be super cute." Brittany smiles brightly at her friends then puts in her headphones to go to sleep.

"How are you Puck?"

"Great." Rachel smiles then bites her lip. She moves to the seat next to Santana and looks her in the eye. "I'm kind of scared."

"About what Berry pie?"

Rachel smiles at Santana's nickname for her that she uses when Rachel is nervous or scared. "A few weeks ago when you went home for the baby shower, me and Britt were out for ice cream and someone threw their drink at me. And it was because of Puck. Girls are jealous. And I understand that, but…" Her voice trails off.

"What?" Her voice raises up an octave. "You're just now telling me this?"

"What if happens again?"

"Let them try that shit when I'm with you. I'll cut a bitch."

Rachel leans her head on Santana's shoulder. "I really like him."

She brushes hair out of Rachel's eyes. "I can tell. You gonna tell your dads?"

"When we get back from Cleveland."

"I think papa Berries will be happy. He makes you happier than Matt did. I can see it in your eyes." Santana strokes her hair and Rachel smiles at the nickname for her dads and Santana's honest opinion.

"He does, doesn't he?" Santana hums in agreement. "I'm going to try out for American Idol. Britt talked me into it."

"That's amazing Rachel." She pulls the smaller girl into a hug. "Have you picked out a tryout song yet?"

Rachel laughs. "No, I still have a few months."

"When we get back to LA, we'll come up with a list of ones that would be awesome with your voice. We can look up audition videos of past winners too."

"You're the best San. I know I'm usually better prepared than this."

"Yeah, I know." She agrees to both. "You just haven't done anything dealing with music in awhile. It'll come back to you."

* * *

><p>After the game in Cleveland, the girls are outside doing signings. A little boy is talking to Rachel about how amazing she is and when she caught the pass in the second half which lead to another touchdown. They won 22-7 so she was happy to see someone so young be excited about the game.<p>

Rachel takes a sip of her water when two women walk up to Santana and ask her to sign their programs. She asks who to make it out to and the younger one says "Sarah Puckerman." Rachel chokes on her drink.

"Rachel are you okay?" Brittany pats her on the back.

"Mmhmm." She looks away and really hopes she heard the girl's name wrong.

"Did you say Puckerman?" Santana asks the girl. As she gets a good look at her, her pen drops. Same hazel eyes, dark hair, lighter skin like the older woman next to her. "Like as in…" Her jaw drops, unable to form a sentence.

The young woman giggles. "As in Noah Puckerman's sister."

Santana reaches for Rachel, but settles for smacking her arm several times while staring at the mini Puck in front of her. "Ra…Rach…" She clears her throat. "Rachel." She looks at her friend who is now pale.

"Yes?" Is all she can squeak out.

"Aren't you lovely! And so beautiful." The older woman looks at her.

Rachel looks down at her uniform. Oh God. Noah's mother is in front of her. All she's wearing is lingerie and the same socks her son called sexy. She can feel the heat on her chest and cheeks. There's not a doubt in her mind that she's bright red.

"Ma, she's terrified. Told you this was a shitty idea." She rolls her eyes as her mother smacks her arm. "I'm so sorry. She has these _really_ crazy ideas and she Googles Noah a lot now that she understands her smart phone." The girl takes a breath. "Well that's how we ended up here."

"I am no such thing as creepy." Mrs. Puckerman scoffs and smiles at the two girls in front of her.

"We just want to know if you're really with my brother."

"I am. He was going to tell you after training. I'm calling my fathers when I get back to LA." Her eyes grow larger when she realizes she just said all that out loud.

"I'm going to punch Finn and Mike. They're supposed to tell me if something like this is going down."

Santana is watching the scene in front of her, amused by it all. "Mike?" Brittany cuts in.

"Do you think you ladies could grab dinner with us? It'd be wonderful to hear how the boys are doing."

"We would _love_ to." Santana and Brittany say at once.

* * *

><p>Puck sits up on his cot in the barrack's he's having to stay in for the duration of his training. They were given a few hours to regroup and pack their gear. Yeah, he was issued gear, even a gun but filled with blanks. The guys were excited he was there with them and made him sign a ton of things on his first day.<p>

His combat boots hit the floor and he walks out by the door where it's a little more quiet then pulls out his phone, scrolling until he finds her name.

"_Hello?_" She whispers.

"Hey baby. How was your game?"

"_It was good. We won," _she whispers again. He hears movement and people laughing.

"You busy Ray? Where are you?"

"_Um, hold on a second." _He hears some shuffling then a bell dinging and it's suddenly quiet. Some guys yell out at him.

"Yo Puck, you talking to your girl? Tell her she's sexy as hell and we can't wait to go see a game of hers."

"Fuck off guys." He laughs and walks outside where a few guys smoke when they're not busy.

Rachel giggles and he leans against the side of the building, one boot propped up on the side behind him. "_Did you leave all the marines?"_

"For a minute. It'd be nice to hear you without them wanting to steal the phone to try and have phone sex with my girl. A guy whacked off in the corner when he called his wife."

"_Noah!"_

Puck laughs and nods to a guy walking by. "I'm kidding, mostly. Get any touchdowns?"

"_One. Brittany got one after she intercepted it and Santana faked a throw to me and ran in for a touchdown. Two one point conversions and a two point conversion."_

"Football speak from you is so hot. Good job though, hopefully you got it for me." She laughs through the ear piece. "You out celebrating?"

"_Something like that._" She pauses. _"Can you send me a picture of you in that uniform to keep me company later?_"

He moans into the phone and switches hands. "Sure baby, but you gotta return the favor, or else you'll only get a pic of my boots."

She giggles. _"Of course." _

"So where you at?"

"_Um, so after the game we do our signings as I'm sure you know. Well two very interesting…fans, asked us to go to dinner with them and here we are. At a diner." _

"Why are you being so fucking vague? What if they're some weird fucking maniacs who want to rape you? I'll go there with my newly issued knife…"

"_Noah! You're really overreacting…"_

"And stab that fucker. Who does that? You shouldn't trust them. There are some fucking creepy dudes at those games Ray. I would know! I've sat there and watch them drool all over you guys. I'll get some of the marine that I've gotten close to and…"

"_Puck!"_ She screams into the phone.

He gets quiet. She never calls him Puck unless he's fucking her really good. And seeing how he's not deep within her and she's not moaning out his name, he's a bit nervous. "What?" He snaps.

"_I'm kind of at dinner with your mother and sister_."

"You…what?" He stares out into the dark trying to comprehend what she's babbling into his ear at a hundred miles per hour. Then he hears a soft voice call out her name. He knows that voice. "Sarah?" He screams out.

"_Oh shit."_ He hears from her side of the phone.

"Put her on the phone baby." He says calmly.

"_Here Sarah,"_ she says quietly.

"_Hey big bro… any marines that you wanna send my way?"_

"What the fuck were you doing at Rachel's game?"

"_Ma dragged me here! Well not really, because I wanted to see her, but still. I found out about you two when my friends showed me a picture of her with her legs wrapped around your body!"_

Rachel coughs in the background when he hears someone from the barracks yell out "Puckerman!"

He puts the phone against his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"We're heading out in ten. Get your gear."

"Alright." He pulls the phone to his ear and sets his foot back onto the ground. "We'll discuss this later Sarah. Watch out for her, I don't need ma fucking shit up. Put Rachel on." There's some shuffling around.

"_Hey baby." _God he loves it when she calls him that. What the fuck is wrong with him?

"Ugh Rach. I'm sorry about them. I'll send you your picture in a few but I gotta go. I'll call you when I get a chance."

"_Be careful. Bye Noah."_

"Bye baby."

Puck walks back into the barracks and puts on the flak jacket vest they gave him and calls over the guy he's been around most since he got here. "Hey Hawthorne, get over here."

A tall man with buzzed blonde hair and brown eyes walks over and stops in front of him. "What's up? Is your pack too heavy and you need help getting it on?" He teases.

He rolls his eyes. "Need ya to do me a favor." He hands him his phone. "Rach wants a pic of the uniform." He waves his hand down his body. "She can't resist my body."

Hawthorne laughs and takes the phone. "Girls do love this shit. Smile." Puck offers him his usual smirk. "There ya go. You got five minutes. I'll meet you outside."

Puck sends the picture then turns his phone off, stuffing it into a pocket in his pack then walks out to meet everyone else.

* * *

><p>Rachel stands awkwardly next to Sarah and looks down at the ground. "Look, I know it's weird to meet us but my mom just wants to know if this is some publicity stunt or something." She is definitely straight forward like her brother.<p>

Rachel gasps and looks inside at the woman who is laughing with her best friends. "Of course not! I really like Noah."

"He lets you call him Noah?"

"Yes…why?" She asks cautiously.

Sarah just smirks at her, must be a Puckerman thing, and walks back into the diner. Rachel sighs and pulls out her phone when it vibrates. Tapping on the screen she sees it's from Puck. There he is, standing in tan combat boots, tan digital camo pants, an olive green shirt, a chain around his neck, bullet proof vest and his signature smirk. Definitely a Puckerman thing. She moans, saves the picture and goes back inside, now having to deal with the throbbing between her legs with his mother there.

* * *

><p>Brittany is having a date night with Mike. They're going to some performance by a dance group he knows then going out to dinner. Santana and Rachel decide they're going to have their own date night since Finn is busy doing some work to try and get Puck on a few talk shows. Rachel tells Santana to pick everything they do because she wants to be surprised. They end up at a really expensive restaurant and Rachel freaks out a little bit. "Santana, this is so expensive."<p>

"Don't worry about it. Dad is paying for it." She winks as she sips on her wine. The bottle alone must have been a hundred dollars.

"Okay then. What are we doing after this?"

"Shopping. Also on dad."

"Won't he get mad?"

"They gave me a credit card. My dad is a doctor in Vegas, he's not exactly hurting for cash Rachel. It's fine. Plus it's our date night and you told me to plan everything. So that's what we have planned."

Rachel smiles and drinks her wine. "It feels like it's been way too long since we've just hung out alone. Is Brittany staying at Mike's tonight?"

"Yep. We can watch movies and take the price tags off everything we buy while eating ice cream."

Rachel laughs and tilts her head back. "I can't wait." She shakes her head. "So no luck with Finn yet?"

"We hung out last night, but we just watched a movie."

"That's it?" Rachel looks at her with her eyebrows pinched together.

"Yeah." She shrugs. "I don't mind it so much because he just seems to understand me. You know how much of a bitch I can be. Surprisingly enough, that side doesn't necessarily come out with any of the guys, but it especially doesn't come out with him. When I want to just roll my eyes at something because I think it's annoying, it's cute on him. I don't get it. He's cute. And when we were watching the movie, I curled up into his side and he didn't even care."

"You usually only do that with me or Britt."

"I know!" She huffs and takes another drink of her wine.

You're going to fall in love with him at this rate before you two ever hook up."

"Shut up, am not." Santana takes a bite of her salad. "Enough about love and guys. Tonight is about us. And one of us is going to be trying out for American Idol." She grins evilly.

"What about it?"

"Let's think of some songs." She pulls out a pen and writes _Possible song choices for Rach's audition_ at the top.

"That's not a paper napkin." She points to the fabric that now has black permanent ink all over it.

"I'll tell them to charge me for it." She rolls her eyes. "So throw out some options."

"Well nothing Broadway. I did way too much of that when I took vocal lessons. How about, _Rolling in the Deep_ by Adele?"

"You would sound pretty good with that." She puts it at the top of the list. "How about anything by Madonna? Like, _Express Yourself_?"

"Maybe, I'd have to try it out." She bites into her salad. "It might be a little too upbeat for it though."

"Well that eliminates _My life would suck without you_ then. Maybe this is a bit more difficult than I thought…" Santana looks at the one song on her list. Usually Rachel is the one who makes lists but she thinks that this is something Rachel could really love if she wins. Watching her sing at Disney made her realize it when Rachel really got into it. Even Puck could see the way her eyes lit up on stage.

"_The Only Exception?_" She looks up at Santana. The girl writes it down and looks back at her wine glass thoughtfully.

"What about that song that came out like two years ago? It's really emotional, by that David Cook guy. I think that could be your best bet for the audition, showing how you can just belt it out."

Rachel looks up as she tries to remember the song. "You mean _Permanent? _Or _Come back to me_?"

"We can get you to sing both. I like this list so far." Santana stuffs it into her purse and looks at the steak that was just set in front of her and Rachel. "I'm so glad we have that ridiculous workout so I can eat all this shit."

"I agree. This steak is so good." Rachel closes her eyes and moans.

"Calm down Rachel. It's not Puck." She winks at her friend.

Her jaw drops. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, that's what you sound like when you two are together in your room and you think everyone else is asleep." Rachel turns bright red and looks down. "Oh calm down, no one cares. S'hot." She shrugs and takes another bite of her steak.

"Santana!" She looks around the restaurant, glad that no one can hear them.

"Hurry up and eat your food. I want to go shopping and spend some cash."

They finally get done eating and Santana is trying on a pair of boots that come up halfway up her calves. She stretches her legs out so Rachel can admire them. "What about these?"

"Those make your legs look even more amazing."

"Damn right." She snaps her ringers and unzips them.

Rachel eyes a pair of heels across the store so she goes to grab them, seeing a pair of black studded ones on the way back. She slips on the nude ones first. "What do you think?" She points one leg as she stands up in them.

"Those look a-ma-zing." Santana enunciates very clearly and winks. "Now put those on." She points to the black ones. "I know many of outfits of yours that would look great with them."

Santana gets up to go find more shoes when Rachel's phone vibrates on the seat next to her.

_Noah: Loved the pic baby. Miss those uniforms of yours._

She laughs and keys in a response, setting the shoes back into the box and slipping on the black ones.

_Noah: Training is great, using my guns to handle my gun. The blanks kind of suck. Haven't showered in days though._

Rachel scrunches her nose and types back. She stands up and admire her legs in the small mirror and takes a picture of the shoes, sending it to Puck. She continues to stand, looking to decide if she really wants to get them or not. But Santana did say she had a lot of outfits that she could use them with. She bites her lip.

_Noah: I'd call ya, but we don't have much time. Sorry babe. _

_Noah: Get those shoes. Fucking sexy, they'd look great around my hips._

Rachel laughs as Santana comes back. "What?" Rachel holds up her phone. Santana looks down at the shoes and smirks. "Tell Puck I completely agree." Rachel bites her lip and laughs loudly.

_Noah: You can't wrap your legs around San's body unless I'm there to watch._

Santana grins at the phone then slips on a pair of dark purple heels. "Tell him I'm game."

"It's awful to tease him like this." She hits send anyways.

"He can rub one out, he'll be okay." Santana stands in front of the mirror. Rachel laughs and puts the shoes back into the box.

_Noah: Don't tease me baby. I'll have to take care of myself now : ( gotta go babe, talk soon._

Rachel sighs and slips her phone into her purse. "I'm ready for him to be back." She looks up at Santana pathetically.

"At least when he's off filming he can talk to you almost every day, or at least text you. It won't be too bad." She shrugs.

She smiles at Santana and looks down at the shoes sitting in her lap. A blonde comes up to them and clears her throat lightly. "Excuse me." They both look up at her. "Are you Rachel Berry?"

Her stomach clenches. Not again. "Yes."

"I thought I heard you mention Puck. I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Quinn Fabray." She holds out her hand to Rachel, narrowing her eyes when she doesn't move then offers it to the taller girl.

Santana lets out a huff and glares at her hand. "I'm Santana. Why are you talking to us?"

Quinn is taken aback from her tone, her hand drops to her side. "Well as I'm sure you know, since you two seem to be so close with him, Finn and Mike, I'll be working with him.. We might see each other more when Pick and I run lines."

"Well until that happens, how about you go elsewhere?" Santana glares at the blonde.

Quinn sniffs at them and looks at Rachel. "You two won't last too much longer. He'll get bored with you. I doubt you can keep him satisfied in bed." She walks off and throws a smile at them before she leaves the store.

Rachel throws the lid onto the box of shoes and places it on top of the two other boxes she has. "I'm ready for ice cream."

Santana nods and grabs her boxes. They get to the register and use Santana's AmEx to pay. Both of them gather all their bags and grab ice cream before heading back to the condo. Rachel slams open the door and tosses her purse before sitting on the floor in the living room, surrounded by her bags.

"I'll get the spoons. Pick out a movie."

Rachel walks to their DVD stands (they had to put three wide ones together since they had so many) and grabs _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_, the newer one. She empties out her bags and puts two pairs of scissors on the coffee table.

"Angry are we?" Santana eyes the movie while she turns on a lamp, turns off the lights and hands Rachel a bowl and a beer.

"Yes. I just want to watch people die violently." She huffs and eats a spoonful of ice cream. "Who does she think she is? Telling me we won't last. She cheated on Finn! I know we haven't been together long but still. How rude." She mumbles around the spoon and waving her hand around.

"She's a slut and a bitch. Just forget her." Santana licks her spoon off.

They both laugh and finish off their ice cream, working on snipping off price tags off their clothes as people get killed. It makes her feel better and forgets everything Quinn said. She shouldn't worry about stupid things like her right? Rachel leans back and looks at the pile of clothes all around them. Santana is asleep on the loveseat so she gets up and turns everything off. She pushes at Santana's shoulder. "C'mon San, go to bed."

The taller girl mumbles something incoherently and grabs her phone, walking towards the master bedroom. Rachel brushes her teeth and closes her door, collapsing onto the bed. Rachel falls asleep, dreaming of Quinn chasing her around with a chainsaw.

"_Where are you Berry? I can't wait to get that pretty face of yours off. I can wear it to get Puck into my arms." Quinn walks around, looking behind doors and everything she thinks Rachel could be hiding behind. _

_Rachel is hiding in the attic above where Quinn is, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Noah, where are you?" She mumbles out quietly, looking around. "This bitch is a psychopath. What did Finn ever see in her?"_

"_Rachel?" She hears Santana and Brittany calling out. _

_Her eyes widen as she moves towards the window. Santana and Brittany are walking towards Quinn, not knowing that she's gone crazy. Finn and Mike made her two best friends stay behind while they came to search for her. But Quinn managed to kill them before they could even spot her in the building. Brittany spots her in the window, pointing up and smiling. The blonde runs towards the building, but then Santana lets out a scream. _

"_Brittany!" She runs towards the building, but another scream comes out. _

_Suddenly it's really quiet. Rachel looks around and down the window. Quinn walks out, wiping off some blood onto her skinny jeans."Rachel…I know where you are. Just come on out sweetie." _

"_Ray baby, you can come out. Quinn isn't going to hurt you." Puck calls out. _

_Rachel runs down, knowing she'll be safe with him. As soon as Quinn sees her, she smiles brightly, then kills Puck, then stalks towards Rachel. "Guess I can get rid of you now too." _

Rachel wakes up screaming. She puts her hand over her heart. "No more scary movies with ice cream and beer." Her head falls into her hands. Her cell phone starts to ring next to her and she jumps.

She looks down at the caller I.D. Noah. "Hello?"

"_Hey babe. How are you?"_ He notices that she's breathing really fast and her voice was shaky. _"What's wrong?_"

"Where are you? Are you safe?"

"_Um, I'm in the barracks. We just got back from running a few obstacle courses. Why? What's wrong?"_

"Sorry, I just had a nightmare. Me and San watched _Texas Chainsaw Massacre _tonight."

"_Why did you watch that? Movie is shit." _

"We saw Quinn when we were shopping tonight. She was kind of a bitch. I wanted to watch something where people were dying. I'm awful."

Puck laughs at her cussing. _"What did she say? And she is a bitch._"

"Just talking about how we wouldn't last and that I couldn't satisfy you in bed." She huffs and lays back down in her bed.

"_Don't listen to her baby. You keep me plenty satisfied_." He laughs.

Rachel can practically feel his smirk. "Is that so? I would love to have you in bed with me right now."

He moans on the line. _"You wet Ray?"_

If she wasn't before, she is now just because he said her nickname. Rachel bites her lip and moans. "Yes." She breathes out.

Puck moves around on his bed, looking to see if any of the other guys are awake. They set him up in the back of the building just in case some nutcase followed him here that they'd have a decent shot of protecting him. He told them it wouldn't be necessary, but whatever. It's cool to have a shitload of marines watching your back. Only a few guys were awake with a light on but none close to him. They all slept when they got the chance to.

"You gonna touch yourself?"

"_I want you to touch me Noah." _

He bites back a moan and chuckles a little. "I'm not there to help you out baby. Still got two more weeks." She whimpers on the phone. At least he can get her distracted from the nightmare that Quinn put into her head. He adjusts himself, palming his length underneath his pants. He hated sleeping in this uniform and it was way too hot where they were.

They both get each other off on the phone. It turns out that Rachel is pretty fucking amazing at talking dirty over the phone. She's said a few dirty things but only when she was drunk and this is definitely not drunk Rachel. She's talking about something that he's not quite sure of, but he puts his arm over his eyes while he listens and ends up falling asleep. She can tell that he's asleep, but she doesn't hang up, just wanting the sound of his even breathing to soothe her from her day. Eventually she falls asleep too, cradling the phone to her ear and wearing his high school tshirt.

* * *

><p><em>For the sake of my story, David Cook didn't win Idol. He's just…there :D Sorry if this seems short and snippy. Review and let me know what you think.<br>_


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Glee or anything else in here that could get me sued :) all mistakes are mine though!**

* * *

><p>Puck collapses onto his couch, pulling his guitar on his lap, strumming a few chords. He called Rachel when he pulled into the parking lot and as expected she was going to head straight over. Admittedly, he was tired from the operation they made him do this morning but he couldn't wait to see her. Three weeks felt like it was too long, even though in a few months he may have to go out of the country to work on the movie. Puck tips his head back until it falls against the cushion. This was so much more comfortable than the cot he's been sleeping on. He closes his eyes as he plucks a random song on the strings.<p>

Rachel opens the door to Puck's apartment to find him laying on the couch with his eyes closed, playing a song with his combat boots on the coffee table. She recognizes them from the picture he sent that is currently on her nightstand. She wonders if that'll freak him out. His jeans are tight against his thighs from how he's sitting and an olive green shirt. His face has some scruff on it that she finds really sexy. She's starting to throb a little bit. Rachel quietly drops her purse on the floor and tip toes over to him as quietly as her high heels will allow. She straddles his thighs as best as she can and puts her hands on his to still them. This was the first time she got to see how handsome Puck really is.

"I didn't know you played."

He opens his eyes to look at Rachel. Tight skinny jeans and a tan and white striped sweater thing with a lacey tank top underneath. Sexy heels. He sets his guitar aside and sets his palms on top of her thighs. "Since high school." He pulls her forward and threads his fingers through her curly hair. "It's good to see you Ray." He kisses her.

"I missed you." She murmurs against his lips.

He thought they would be ripping each other's clothes off right now, but he actually doesn't mind this slow pace they have going on at the moment. That should scare him. "I missed you too."

Rachel moves up further on his lap and licks his bottom lip until he lets her tongue in. She moans when his hands run down her sides. She grinds down against his thigh and puts her hands onto his cheeks and pulls away. She stands up and he looks at her with a mixture of disappointment and curiosity. Rachel leans over to suck on his earlobe. "Did you miss my lack of a gag reflex?"

Puck moans as she drops to her knees, her small hands pulling his zipper down carefully. He moves to push down his jeans while she pulls off her sweater and puts her hair up into a pony tail. "You're so damn sexy." He sits back and watches her tongue wet her lips.

She wraps her hand around the bottom of his cock, moving it up and down before she lowers her mouth to lightly suck on his balls. He moans out and reaches for her hair, pulling her pony tail slightly when he hits the back of her throat. Her dainty hands are massing him while her tongue moves up and down while she sucks. He moves his hips up slightly and she pulls back up, swirling her tongue around the tip. Her hand pumps him a bit more as she sucks his tip.

She moves back down and Rachel is in the middle of deep throating him, his hands in her hair when the door opens. "Hey bro, how was…oh my God!" His sister screams and turns around covering her eyes.

He accidentally jerks his hips up and makes Rachel gag/choke. His hand finds the small pillow at the end of the couch and throws it at his sister. "Go to Finn's and get the fuck out of here!" The door closes but Rachel keeps going faster until he releases. She swallows everything and when he knows she's done, he pulls her up and kisses her. He doesn't really care that her mouth was just around his dick but because he cares about her. He really _should_ be scared at this point, but he's not.

"I'm sorry baby. Ya okay?" He strokes her hair, the pony tail falling out.

"I'm fine Noah." She buries her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm embarrassed and horny."

"Let me take care of you." He picks her up and moves his pants so he can walk to the bedroom. "I needed to be in you like three weeks ago."

"You were." She giggles. He drops her onto the bed and steps out of his jeans and pulls hers down. "We have to make this quick, your sist.." He cuts her off by slapping his hand over her mouth and enters her after he rolled a condom on. She moans and closes her eyes. He pulls his hand away.

"Don't say the 's' word." She nods. "C'mere." He pulls her up and pulls her tank top away. Her hands pull up his shirt and he pulls it off his head once she can't reach.

"Baby please." She leans back and tries to pull him down towards her.

Puck leans down and kisses her neck, pulling back and thrusting back in. He links their fingers together and raises her hands above her head. Rachel opens her eyes and looks at his arm, noticing ink on his left bicep that she's never seen before.

"Did you get a tattoo?" She asks breathlessly as he continues his pace.

He looks down at his left arm and smirks. "The marines pulled together and paid for it, wanting me to remember my time with them." He snaps his hips and causes her to moan.

"It's Yiddish." She arches towards him when he sucks on her pulse point. "Harder Noah."

Puck obliges and smirks against her neck. "Yeah."

"What does it say?" She wraps her legs around him, changing the angle and moans. "Oh God Noah." Her hand finds the bedspread and bunches it up in her fist. The other grips his bicep near the tattoo. It's turning her on even more.

He smirks, thinking that it could somehow apply to what he's doing right now. "The only way out is through." Rachel whimpers as he starts to thrust into her more urgently. She pulls him down towards her so she can kiss him, then down his neck landing on his bicep, kissing the tattoo. And shit if that wasn't really hot to him. "God damn Ray." His hand moves down to her clit and rubs it a few times before she's gripping his arm and squeezing her legs around his hips. She comes hard and a few long thrusts he's releasing too. His head falls onto her shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

"I think I found a new secret weapon." She smiles against his neck and presses a kiss there.

"Didn't think it'd get you all hot and bothered when you saw it." He pulls out and she groans. Puck stands up and begins to pull his jeans up and laces up his boots again.

Rachel lays on the bed, still trying to catch her breath when she admires his muscles. In three weeks he managed to get a bit more buff and the muscles in his back are more defined. He looks like a Greek god and he's all hers. She bites her lip and moves her hand down, an ache in between her legs built up again.

Puck finishes up with his boots and he can't help but turn when he hears a strangled moan behind him. He finds Rachel circling her clit with her fingers. He growls and moves towards her. "If I wasn't so fucking tired I'd fuck you all over again." He drops to his knees and moves between her legs. Pulling her legs towards him, he licks a line up her then nudges his tongue against her finger that's circling her clit.

"Noah." She gets out shakily. He inserts two fingers into her, moving them in and out fast.

He stands up and leans over her, one knee on the bed to hold him up and his other hand landing by her head. Puck kisses her deeply, licking the roof of her mouth then pulls away. "Come on baby. You look so good getting yourself off." She reaches up and kisses him, gasping into his mouth as she clenches around his fingers.

She settles back against his bed and takes a deep breath.

Rachel fixes her curls in the bathroom mirror and adjusts her tank top. Puck walks in and wraps his arms around her. "You look fine. Let's go deal with the brat." He kisses her cheek and pulls her out of the bathroom and then into the hall.

He pushes open the door and sees Sarah laughing with Finn. They both look over and his sister turns red. Smirking, he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Dude, you have way more muscle now." Finn stands up and moves over to bump fists with him.

"They're some crazy guys. I didn't think it'd be that hard." Sarah coughs behind Finn. Puck looks over at her and raises an eyebrow.

Rachel peeks around and smiles shyly. "Hello Sarah."

"Hey Rachel." The younger girl gets a twinkle in her eye.

"So what are you doing showing up at my apartment Sarah?"

"You bought me a plane ticket for my birthday remember? At least it wasn't ma who showed up in your doorway." He groans as she smirks. "She probably would've told Rachel to mount you and for you two to give her some Jewish grandbabies."

"Jesus, shut up."

Rachel lets out a gasp and turns around, hiding her face. "Maybe I should go and let you two have some alone time. San and Britt are probably at home anyways."

"I'm not going into that apartment until it's aired out from smelling like sex. Finn can I stay in your extra room?"

"Um, sure." He says nervously.

"Just ignore her Rach, she's annoying."

" I have practice soon anyways. So I'll just meet you later, we get out at 8." She leans up and kisses him. "I'll just grab my stuff out of your apartment real quick."

"Okay baby, I'll see you later." He looks at his girlfriend until she's out the door and turns around to glare at Sarah. She walks towards him to give him a hug but gets a slap to the arm instead. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Ow Noah." Sarah rubs her arm with her eyebrows pinched together. "Do you see this shit Finn?"

Finn gives her a lopsided smile. "Honestly, if I were him I would've done the same thing." He shrugs and goes to sit on the couch. She sits on the opposite end of Finn while Puck takes the armchair.

He reclines in the chair, putting a foot up on the coffee table and bring his arms behind his head, smirking at his sister. "I know you're up to something, so why don't you go ahead and tell me what it is. You come here to spy on me and Rachel for ma?"

"What the fuck is on your arm?" Sarah stares at his bicep which causes Finn to look over too.

"Got a tattoo with the marines."

"Did it hurt?" Finn stares at little harder.

"Wasn't bad." He shrugs and looks back at Sarah pointedly.

Mike walks through the door. "Puck! You're back." He looks to the couch. "So is mini Puckerman."

"I told you not to call me that."

He sits on the couch, forcing Sarah to sit in between him and Finn. They start up a game of Call of Duty, tossing a controller to Puck and Sarah. She rolls her eyes and plays along, used to having to play video games with them. "So are you going to tell me why you're here?"

"Is it so wrong to want to come see my brother and get away from ma?"

Puck snorts. "Maybe. Why can't you just go to your dorm?"

"I'm not in school this semester." She looks nervously to her brother. "You do realize it's mid October right?"

"What?" He yells and pauses the game. "Why the fuck not?"

"Can we maybe talk about this later when we're alone?" Puck glares at her and nods slightly, unpausing the game.

* * *

><p>Rachel walks into her condo, finding Santana and Brittany in the living room watching reruns of <em>How I Met Your Mother<em>. Her face and chest are still red as she sits in the oversized chair. Santana starts to laugh and Brittany looks over questioningly.

"How ya doing Berry pie?"

Rachel gasps and throws the pillow behind her back at her friend. "You only use that when I'm scared or nervous! You've _never_ used it to make fun of me."

"Finn called me and told me what happened. I can't believe baby Puck walked in on you." Santana falls over on the loveseat clutching her stomach.

"Wait, Sarah is in town?" Brittany looks at them both hopeful. "She's so nice. But what happened?"

"She's rude! And crass. She should've knocked on the door!" Rachel huffs and gets up, starting to walk towards her room.

"She's mini Puck! They're the same, you're kinda forgetting that Rach!" Santana calls out to her, only to hear the door slam in return. She laughs and turns to Brittany , ready to tell her what happened with Puck's sister and why Finn called, but Rachel opens her bedroom and sticks her head out.

"And you need to have sex with Finn already. You're enjoying your vibrator too much that you've probably forgotten what a penis even feels like!"

Santana's jaw drops. "Rachel Barbara Berry!" She runs to the bedroom door and tries to open it, only to find it locked. Banging her firsts on the door she starts to yell. "LET ME IN RIGHT NOW!"

"Not until you call Finn!"

Brittany stares at her two friends down the hallway and picks up her phone. "Finn? Can you guys like…come over? I have a bad feeling that San and Rachel are going to start breaking things in the condo." She listens as they all leave the apartment and Finn mumbling something to Puck and Sarah. "See you soon. Oh wait! Is Mike coming?" Finn mumbles out that he's going to take a nap since he had to deal with little kids. "Okay then." She puts down the phone and stares at the site in front of her. Santana is still banging on the door, so hard that it actually starts to rattle a little bit. Rachel is screaming that she's going to break the door down and that she and Puck would have to have sex in her room if that happens.

"Oh hell no! You two are not allowed _anywhere_ near my bed! Or my shower. Or anywhere else for that matter!"

"San..." Brittany tries to call out.

"Maybe if you actually do him, then he'll forget Quinn! I've kissed you! I know that you're good!" Rachel screams through the door.

This is the exact moment that Finn comes barreling into the door, freezing when he hears that. Brittany stands up and looks to everyone. Puck's eyebrows are nearly up to his forehead. Sarah just walks by everyone and takes a seat on the couch. Brittany looks over to Santana who is just frozen, realizing that the front door opened and closed. Finn walks down the hall, pushing Santana towards her room and closing the door. Puck knocks on Rachel's door while Brittany squeals and starts to talk to Sarah rapidly.

"Rach, baby, wanna let me in?" The lock clicks and she pulls open the door, surveying it to see if it'll fall off the hinges. "Wanna let me know what you two were fighting about that caused Britt to call us saying you two might start fucking up the condo?"

"Santana was being a bitch." She sits down on her bed. "She was laughing that we got caught and when I said your sister was rude and crass, she started to laugh! Laughing Noah, saying that you two are the same."

Puck laughs and sits down next to her. "We are nearly the same babe, she's just a chick. We're Puckerman's." He shrugs like it's a good enough explanation. "What'd you say to San that caused her to flip her shit?"

Rachel bites her lip and looks up at him nervously.

* * *

><p>Finn sits Santana down on her bed while he sits in her desk chair and rolls it over. "What was that all about?"<p>

Santana rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. She's still reeling from being a bitch to Rachel that it just sort of rolls into her being a bitch to Finn. "She's just being a bitch because she's getting laid more than I am. Saying shit about forgetting what a dick feels like. Can you believe she said that to _me_?" She spits out, actually offended that Rachel insulted her. "I can go out and get laid if I really want to. Have you seen my body?" She raises her eyebrow to Finn and moves her hand down her body before crossing it with her other arm again.

He laughs lightly and rolls the chair over so he's directly in front of her. "I have seen your body, lingerie uniform remember?" Santana rolls her eyes. "What's keeping you from going out and sleeping with people?" She stays quiet and stares down at the ground. He sighs. "Okay then. Why did she say something about Quinn?"

"Because you're not over her." She states plainly. Isn't it obvious that he isn't? She's kind of ready for this conversation to be over. She doesn't do relationships. She shouldn't even like Finn but there's something about him that makes her want to talk this shit out.

"Who said I'm not over her?" He looks at her, furrowing his eyebrows together and pulls one of her arms so he can hold her hand. "I've been over her for awhile now. We may have only broken up two months ago, but once she started to cheat…"

"Then why did you stay with her if she was shitty to you?"

"I thought she was what I wanted or needed, whether she cheated or not. It doesn't make sense, I know. But when she started to throw shit in my apartment and complaining about Hawaii, I knew she wasn't what I wanted."

She nods quietly. In a way it made sense. If you're with someone for a year then you think it'll be serious enough to think that it's what you want. "Then what do you want?"

Finn gives her a small smile and leans forward, putting his free hand in her hair, pulling her face towards him. He kisses her lightly and pulls back. She stares at him, shocked. He looks at her nervously and pulls away. Did he honestly think that she didn't want that kiss? Every time they hung out she's been dying to kiss his lips. Cuddling wasn't her thing but most of the time she would end up leaning up against him in some way. By the time Santana comes back to reality, he's back at her desk a few feet away from her. She stands up and manages to sprint the few feet, if that's even possible in her room, until she's straddling his legs and sitting on his thighs. The momentum from her jumping on him pushes them against her desk, knocking off something and falling against the floor with a dull thud. She pulls his face towards hers and kisses him. Her tongue pushes its way into his mouth while he wraps his arms around her.

After a few minutes he pulls away and puts his forehead on hers. "Oh thank God." Santana laughs and moves to kiss him again.

* * *

><p>Puck is laughing on the bed. "You honestly think she could <em>forget<em> what a penis feels like?"

"Shut up." She slaps his arm and gets up to change for practice.

It was wrong of her to say that to Santana and she knows it. She's practically tearing up as she pulls her tank top over her head and pulling up her LA Temptation shorts. The way Puck said it to her really made her think. Rachel sits on the edge of her bed, lacing up her tennis shoes then pulls up her hair. She's turning around when she hears the gentle snore come out from Puck. She leans over and presses a kiss to his cheek, then moves to pull off his boots and put a blanket over him. Rachel grabs her gym bag off from the hook from the back of her door, wondering how she's going to apologize to Santana.

Brittany and Sarah are sitting in the living room, the blonde sitting in shorts and a sports bra with a jacket over it. Rachel sits in the chair and puts her feet up on the table. "Noah fell asleep so you're more than welcome to stay here while we're at practice. They know where the key is to lock up if you guys decide to leave."

"You know I was kidding with you earlier right?" Sarah looks at her then over to Brittany, who nods and smiles.

"Yes, I was just really embarrassed, that's all."

Sarah laughs. "Don't worry about it. I've caught him doing way worse." She shrugs.

Rachel sighs and looks over to Santana's room. "And I really shouldn't have taken it out on her. She's going to hit me with the ball at practice."

"She wouldn't do that. I haven't heard any yelling coming from her room so that's a good sign."

"Yeah, Finn wouldn't do anything. He understands how big of a bitch Quinn is now. So he might move on faster or something."

Rachel looks over to Sarah. Her words didn't really make sense but she shrugs and looks up at the TV. Eventually Santana comes out of the room in her shorts and a tank top with her bag over her shoulder, a smile on her face. Her and Brittany wonder what could've happened but ignore it.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen Sarah. We'll only be gone a few hours." Rachel smiles and walks out the door. Brittany and Santana wave to the girl, following Rachel.

* * *

><p>Brittany is off working with the other part of the team as Rachel and Santana stretch. The taller girl is ignoring the glances that her friend is throwing her way as they stretch. She's pulling her arm across her chest when she snaps. "Stop staring at me Berry." She hates how Rachel flinches.<p>

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that San. I was such a bitch." She looks around to see if anyone heard her.

"For God's sake Rachel, you play football and I know you cuss when you get tackled or something. None of us will judge you if you want to cuss like a sailor."

She huffs and bends her arm. "Fine, just like earlier I won't sugar coat it anymore. You like Finn. He seems to like you. Just kiss him and make a move San. You don't know what will happen unless you lay your fucking awesome lips on his."

Santana laughs and blushes then bites her lip. She feels like Rachel and she almost hates the feeling. "We did kiss. In my room."

"What?" Rachel's eyebrows shoot up. "Are you, are you serious?"

"He's such a good kisser Rach."

"Oh my God!" She shoots up and tackles Santana to the ground hugging her. "I'm so happy for you! Please say you forgive me though."

"I do. If it wasn't you and your loud mouth we probably wouldn't have even gotten to this point. Or him telling me that he's over Quinn."

" I am not loud. So are you two dating or what?"

"You're right Rach, you're not loud, you're fucking loud as hell. I don't know yet. We just kissed until I had to get dressed for practice. But stop making a big deal out of it. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Get the fuck off me Rachel. Let's go throw the ball. All this girly talk is making me nauseous."

Rachel is about to walk away when Santana grabs her arm and looks around. She sighs and looks at her friend in the eyes.

"But um, thanks for saying that though. If it wasn't for you Britts wouldn't have called Finn to make him come over. I don't think we would've talked it out any time soon otherwise. Now go long. I'm about to puke from this conversation."

She rolls her eyes. "You love it and you know it." Rachel calls out and runs down the field to catch a throw.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Puck stretches up and realizes that he's not at home or in a cot. Rubbing the heels of his hands over his eyes, he walks out to the living room and sees Sarah laying on the couch. Did he really forget that it was October? Or the fact that his sister was sitting in his girlfriend's condo when she's supposed to be at school. Wait, she's not in school. And just like that, in a split second, he's angry all over again. Puck settles himself onto the loveseat, moving to where he's facing Sarah instead of the TV.<p>

"So why didn't you or ma tell me that you weren't in school this semester?" He nudges her foot with his, trying to get her attention since she ignored his question.

Sarah turns to face him, scared of her older brother. "It's not for me. I can't find a major and it'd be a waste of money that we can't afford to lose." Her voice comes out small and not at all confident like it usually is, like his.

"Money isn't a issue Sarah. You know that I help you guys out and I'll pay your damn college tuition if I have to. I'm the fuck up of the family, not you."

"That's not the problem Noah! I don't want to go to school and get a bullshit job. What if I want to be an agent like Finn or be an actress? Or a model? Or a singer?" She glares at him then her face softens. "You're not a fuck up Noah and you haven't been in years."

He dismisses her last comment with a roll of his eyes. "If you wanted to be an agent, you'd still have to go to school." He looks at her with an arched eyebrow. Seriously, didn't his sister think this shit through?

"So that rules out being an agent!" She raises her voice slightly and automatically tenses, looking towards the end of the hall where Finn is sleeping in Santana's room. "I just don't want to settle for something. You know what that's like to not find a major, but you found something that you love doing. You were just fortunate enough to find it in college. I haven't." Her voice sounds defeated and it breaks his heart.

He sighs and leans back against the cushions. "Okay. I can be an adult about this." Sarah scoffs and he glares at her. "I can. Then tell me what your plan is. You going to move back home?"

"Actually, I was thinking I could stay here with you. Ma is fine with it if you are."

Puck stares at her. "Here? Are you serious? Why the fuck should I let you?"

"Well yeah I'm serious. I can't find anything to do back in Ohio like I could here. Please Noah. You have an extra room that isn't being used. And I won't bother you. I can look for a job while I try to figure it all out. Ma said she'd drive my car here so I can have my own way of getting around."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Calm the fuck down." He runs his hand down his face and stands up.

"Where are you going?" Her eyes are wide like she's scared he's going to throw her out on the street. He would never do that to his baby sister. No matter how much he wants to strangle her right now.

"Getting Finn. He's practically your brother too and I'm getting a fucking migraine from thinking about this." He walks down the hall and bangs on Santana's door. "Get the fuck up, I need your help our here."

Finn walks out sleepily while Puck is in the kitchen drinking water. He sits on the other side of the couch and yawns. "What's up?"

"Brat wants to move in with me and try to figure out her life's destiny."

The taller man looks at the girl in front of him. "Are you even old enough to do that?" They both look at him curiously. Sarah thinks he's still half asleep.

"Please Finn. Tell him to let me stay. I won't get in anyone's way. Well I probably will because you guys would be the only people I know here…but I'll look for a job." She turns to Puck. "If I get one I could help pay rent or something. I could cook for you." She smiles widely.

Puck contemplates this. It would be better than eating out all the time… He sighs and sits back down on the love seat, grabbing the remote to mute it. "What do you think Finn?"

He leans back against the couch and looks at Sarah. She starts to give him these wide sad eyes, her bangs falling into her eyes. Finn groans and puts his hand over his face. "I don't think it's a bad idea." When he drops his hand, Sarah is looking at him wide a bright smile and Puck scowling at him. "Dude, you're the only one who is immune to that look."

"And for good fucking reasons apparently!"

"Dude, we'll have home cooked meals for the days we don't come over here and the girls are cooking for us. It won't be that bad. What if I hire her as my assistant or something so you don't have to worry about her driving around in the traffic looking for a job. Or have some douche leering at her body."

Sarah looks over at Puck. "Please? You trust Finn."

He looks over to the two people on the couch. Why is Finn giving him sad eyes? Puck glares at his friend then looks back at his sister. He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "You're calling mom to tell her to drive that dumb car out here. God knows I don't need her here with Rachel. While you work with Finn you try and figure out what you want to do with yourself. If you really like what he does, you're ass is going back to school. Talk to the girls and get some feelers for what they do in their off time. You're not getting a free ride off me Sarah. Or Finn for that matter."

She lets out a high squeal and moves over to the loveseat to hug Puck. "Thank you so much. I love you."

"Yeah, love ya too squirt. Now get off me." He shoves at her shoulders.

Sarah smiles and moves over to Finn, hugging him tight and says she loves him too. "Does that mean I can go back to sleep now? I'm exhausted."

"Dude, it's almost five. Stay up, we're all going to dinner later anyways. And don't talk to me about exhausted."

Mike walks through the door. "Figured you ladies were still over here since you guys weren't at home." He moves into the living room.

"Mike I'm moving here!" She moves over to him and hugs him tightly.

"You're what?" He looks between his friends while Sarah stands next to him.

"Yep, got a job with Finn and everything. I'm going to cook for the three of you." She pokes Mike in the ribs.

He blinks and looks down at her. "Does Rachel, Brittany or Santana know about this?"

"Not yet but they will later. Noah says we're going out to dinner." She sits down on the end of the couch while Mike sits in the chair like he usually does.

"Sarah, just call me Puck while you're here. It's weird."

"I'm your sister I can call you anything I want. And you let Rachel call you Noah." She glares at him and unmutes the TV.

"That's different." All three snort and he glares at them individually before his eyes fall back onto the TV. "Call ma and tell her before she hears Rachel in the background or something and demands to talk to her."

"Fine." She mutes the TV again and pulls out her phone, dialing their house number and putting it on speakerphone.

"_Hello_?_"_

"Hey ma." Sarah speaks into the speaker.

"_Sarah! Did you make it there? Why didn't you call me earlier? I thought you got in hours ago."_

"She did and she got caught up with us, Jesus ma, calm down."

"_Noah Puckerman! Don't speak to me like that." _

Finn and Mike grin. "Hey mama Puckerman!" They call out and Sarah holds her phone up towards them.

"_Boys! How are you? All my good-looking children in one place. Are the girlfriends there?"_

"They're at practice mama P." Finn laughs. "And Santana isn't my girlfriend."

"_Oh please Finn. Don't lie to yourself. But what a shame, I'd love to hear from them again._"

"You could just stalk them again." Puck mumbles from his chair.

"_Noah! Anyways, glad to know you're safe baby girl._"

"I have some news for you ma. Noah said I could stay with him and Finn is going to hire me as his assistant. So I guess you can drive my car over to LA."

"_Oh Finn you lovely boy. Thank you for doing that._"

"Oh shit." Puck looks with wide eyes to Finn and Mike.

"What?" Mike looks at him, his eyebrows pinched together and confused.

"My mother and Rachel in one place? With me around?"

"So? They've met already remember?" Sarah looks at him with a look on her face that says 'Puck you're a complete dumbass.'

"Remember what you walked in on?"

Sarah scrunches up her nose and looks to her phone. "Oh God."

"_What?"_ Their mother asks from the phone.

"Nothing!" They all scream out.

"Dude, we can figure something out, so you guys can…well yeah." Finn looks around nervously.

"_Well when should I drive the car to her Noah? When do you start to film?_"

Puck looks to Finn. "Um, I don't know. We'll figure it out and get back to you. The girls will be back soon so we gotta run." He glares at Sarah to turn the phone off.

"Yeah, we gotta go. I still need to shower and stuff."

"_Okay then. Bye dears. Love you." _

"Love ya ma," Sarah and Puck mumble out while Finn and Mike yell out "Love ya mama Puckerman!" She ends the call and looks over to Puck.

"How would we prevent her from making you two mount each other and pop out a Jewish baby in 9 months?" She looks from Puck to Finn then to Mike.

"Well between all of us, we have four houses. Mama P and Sarah can stay at Puck's, Santana at Finn's and Britt at mine, Puck and Rachel can have the condo all to themselves. When they wanna get it on." Mike shrugs and smiles to himself, pleased with the plan he came up with.

"I knew you were smart somewhere in that Asian brain of yours." Puck smirks.

"Shut up. Or I'll tell Rachel your mom is coming before you do!"

"Fuck off."

"You start filming the week after next. I think that's the week the girls have off and they're doing some promotional shit for the team. Their coach asked me to help set up a charity game and to look for a new photographer for team photos." Finn's face lights up. "You can look for the photographer. I have a few in mind that you can call." He smiles at Sarah.

"Awesome." She looks over to Puck and smiles proudly.

The girls walk into the apartment and Puck is pretty relieved to see that Rachel and Santana are speaking again. Santana walks straight over to Finn and gives him a long deep kiss. Mike and Puck stare with their jaws dropped, Sarah and Brittany squealing a little bit.

"Stop staring Noah." He looks up at Rachel and takes in her flushed skin. His pants are getting tighter and his mouth watering. She always looks sexy after practice. "Do you think we could just stay here and order pizza? It was kind of a rough practice."

"God yes. Pizza sounds _so_ good. All I've eaten are those MRE's they gave me the past three weeks."

"What's an MRE?" Brittany looks over at him from sitting on Mike's lap.

"Meal ready to eat. Comes in a package and you use chemicals and shit to warm it up." Puck kicks up his feet on the table and leers at Rachel's tanned toned legs from where she's standing next to the chair. _Damn she's got some great legs._

Rachel bites her lip and turns to go change in her room while Finn talks to him. "Puck?"

His eyes snap to Finn's. "What?"

"Do you have anymore?" Finn looks at him while Santana moves off his lap to go change.

"I might have a few in all the crap they gave me. I'll check when I get back to the apartment."

Rachel walks out with her phone against her ear. She smiles at everyone and curls up next to Puck on the loveseat, giving him a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Yes daddy I know. Our game next week is in Philadelphia." She pauses and looks down at a thread on her shorts. "You and dad don't need to come. I could drive down and stay the night, fly home separately." She sighs and looks to Puck. He raises his eyebrow and mouths 'daddy?' Receiving a slap to his arm, she rolls her eyes. "They want to see you too but still, it's not necessary to drive up."

"She has two dads?" Finn asks randomly.

"You just now figured that out due?" Puck stares at him. He can really be an idiot.

"That's Noah daddy." She bites her lip and laces her fingers with his left hand. "My boyfriend, Noah Puckerman." There's a slight yell on the other side of the conversation. Everyone raises their eyebrows questioningly. Even Santana from down the hall heard it. "We'll discuss that later. I love you both! Bye daddy." She hangs ups and puts her phone down, her cheeks bright red.

"What did papa Berry say? And what was that yell?" Santana smirks and sits in between Finn and Sarah.

"They're coming to the game next week to see all of us. And they said that Noah is…" She bites her lip and looks away. "A really hot man." She pulls up a pillow and puts it over her face.

"Well I am hot Rach." Puck laughs and pulls her close. Everyone else is laughing too.

"So who's ordering the pizza?"

"I will." Finn walks out into the kitchen to order a few pizzas. But when he gets off with the guy, his phone starts to ring.

A few minutes later he walks out and looks at Puck. "How tired are you?"

"I'm fine now that I had that nap in Rachel's room. Why?"

"There was a cancellation on David Letterman's show tonight, they want you to come on instead."

"Seriously?" Puck leans forward and stares at his friend.

"Yep. But we'd have to leave now to go get ready. Kurt can meet us there with some clothes for you."

"Who's Kurt?" Santana snaps them out of their conversation.

"Finn's step brother." Sarah smiles up at Puck. "You should do it."

"I agree." Rachel says from behind Puck.

"Then let's go." He bends down and kisses Rachel. "Make sure you watch."

"I wouldn't miss it."

* * *

><p>Brittany and Mike went to bed in her room, telling them to record the show so they could watch it later. Santana popped some popcorn and settled in between Sarah and Rachel on the couch, turning on David Letterman.<p>

"Do we have to watch all the bullshit before he comes on?" Santana stuffs some popcorn into her mouth.

"Yes! We don't know when he'll be coming on." Rachel reaches in and eats a few pieces.

"What will they even talk about? If it's last minute then they don't really have anything prepared, right?"

"I'm sure they'll figure something out Sarah. They're professionals."

"Shut up. He's on." Santana turns up the volume on the TV.

"_Please welcome out Noah Puckerman everyone!" _

_David Letterman stands up and holds his hand out to Puck to shake his hand. They both around until they're sitting again. Girls are screaming in the background, causing Puck to smirk at them and wave. _

"_Wow, what a welcome. Do girls always scream like that at you?" David laughs and drinks from his cup. _

"_Sometimes. I got used to it after awhile though." Puck follows suit and drinks out of his cup. _

Rachel looks at the clothes Finn's brother dressed him in. Dark jeans with black boots, dark navy blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black tie and grey vest. She really hopes they come back over tonight.

"_Now, I hate to say this, but you've never been on the show before. How is that possible when you're quickly becoming one of the biggest faces in Hollywood?"_

_Puck laughs. "I don't know, but I'm glad to be here. Anyone who is anyone comes on your show. Kinda surreal." _

"_I understand that you don't go by Noah, am I correct?"_

"_Yeah, only my ma and sis call me that. And my girlfriend." _

"_That's right! Someone has managed to take you off the market." The crowd boo's and they both laugh. "Now, I hear her name is Rachel Berry. Is that correct or are the magazines lying?"_

_Puck looks down at his shoes, a small smile on his face and he looks back over to David smirking. "That's my girl. Sorry ladies." He gives the crowd a sympathetic smirk. _

"_She's a wide receiver for the Lingerie Football League. I haven't heard of this, are there really lingerie football teams?" _

"_It's legit." He laughs and crosses his legs, throwing his arm over the back of the chair and facing the talk show host a little more. "She plays for LA Temptation."_

"_So you've been to a game?"_

"_Oh, I've been to a few. I mean, c'mon, have you seen the pictures?" He arches his eyebrow up at the older man.  
><em>

"_Actually yes, how about we pull up the picture of her team." He pulls out a piece of cardboard with their team picture on it, Rachel smiling brightly in the middle with the black paint on her cheeks, her hair falling down in curls off her shoulders. "She's gorgeous! I can see how she managed to tie you down." He winks at Puck. _

_Puck laughs and adjusts his tie. "She's pretty great." _

"_I'm sure she's pretty lucky to have you. Look at all the women in here fanning themselves!" The camera looks out into the crowd. "Now I've heard you went to train with the U.S Marines. And you've brought some pictures from your time with you correct?"_

"_Yes sir I did. For three weeks. And well shit, that was nothing like I expected." _

"_Explain." David leans back in his chair and smiles. _

"_I thought I was physically fit, I mean I go and workout a lot." He uncrosses his legs and crosses them back, resting his arms on the arms of the shoulder. "The first 48 hours, they issued me some gear and gave me a pack that weighed 70 lbs."_

"_70 pounds?" David raises his eyebrow at him. _

"_Yep." He pops the 'p'. "It had three sleeping bags in it, why? I honestly couldn't tell you. I guess in case one gets messed up. So anyways, they tell me we're going on a 10 km hike carrying that stuff. And to make it worse, they put me in the uniform that they have to wear." _

"_Wow. What else did you have to do?"_

_"They made me dig my own foxhole without any help."_

_"A foxhole?"_

_"Yeah, they wanted me to get a feel for everything that had to do. I even ran a few field ops with them. And I slept in the barracks with 70 other men. It was really interesting."  
><em>

_ "Now why were you training with them again?"_

"_For my new movie. A prequel to __Inglourious Basterds_._We start to film in a week and a half."_

"_Well I'm sure there will be plenty of fans who are looking forward to that. Now I have some pictures here that you brought us. Here's one with you and some marines." He holds up a picture with Puck standing next to someone with buzzed blonde hair, sunglasses on their heads, and brown eyes. "Who is this guy with his arm around you?"_

"_Oh, he's Connor Hawthorne. He helped me the most. We're actually a lot alike. All the guys were pretty cool." _

_David holds up a picture of Puck at the tattoo place, surrounded by Connor and a few other men, flexing his left arm showing his new tattoo. "I'm going to assume that's real ink?"_

_Puck laughs. "Yeah, they wanted me to remember them. It's pretty badass. I'd gladly invite them over to a party." _

"_How did your girl react to the new tattoo?" _

_He smirks. "Let's just say she loves it."_

"_What will your mother think?"_

_Puck pales slightly and smirks. "She may hate it, but at least it's in Yiddish." He winks at the camera. _

_David laughs. "Alright everyone! We're going to take a commercial break. Thank you for coming at the last minute Puck. We hope to see you again before your movie comes out." _

"_I'd love to come back, thanks." He shakes the man's hand and waves to everyone._

Santana slowly looks over to Rachel. "So you like his new tattoo?"

Rachel nods and bites her lip. "It's sexy San. You just saw the picture of it."

She laughs and cups Rachel's cheek. "I'm going to bed. We can discuss this tomorrow."

She watches the taller girl leave the room and she looks over to Sarah who is falling asleep. "Let me get you a blanket and a pillow. You can sleep on the couch until they come back over to pick you up."

"Thanks Rachel." She smiles. After Rachel has Sarah settled on the couch, she walks to her room and turns on the lamp so Puck won't stumble around if he decides to come into her room.

* * *

><p>Finn and Puck walk into the condo quietly, noticing the muted TV still playing an infomercial. Finn makes a beeline straight to Santana's room while Puck looks over and sees his sister. He squats down next to the couch and shoves her shoulder. She opens her eyes and smiles sleepily at him.<p>

"Can we just stay the night here? I'm really tired."

"Yeah. I just want to let you know that I am happy to see you squirt."

"It's good to see you too. I've missed you." She smiles and pulls him into a hug. He kisses her cheek.

"Get some sleep. Night."

"Goodnight. You looked good on the show by the way. Rachel was drooling a little bit."

He laughs and walks over to Rachel's room. The light is still on so he moves to the other side of the room, stripping off his clothes. She mumbles something out and turns over, looking up at him. "Hey baby."

"You were great tonight."

Puck crawls under the covers and leans over her body to turn off the light. "Thanks babe. Hopefully them asking questions and shit about you was alright?"

"Of course." She yawns and turns onto her side, facing him.

"Ma might kill me about the tattoo though."

"It's sexy." Rachel closes her eyes.

He laughs. "So you've told me. Get some rest." He kisses her lightly and places his hand on her hip, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

><p><em>So I kind of made the interview to be like Russell Brand's when he talked about being with the Marine for 48 hours. And also, I'm visualizing Puck's sister like Lucy Hale.<em>


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Glee or anything else in this chapter that could get me sued.**

* * *

><p>Sarah is gone with Finn trying to find a photographer for the team photo that the coach wants, so for the first time since she's been here, Puck can just lay on his couch in his boxers and strum out chords on his guitar without her getting pissy. It's only been a few days, but he can feel his mind slowly going insane. He's only got a few days to relax before he starts to film and Rachel is leaving tomorrow for their away game on Friday.<p>

He's plucking out a few notes before he realizes his fingers picked out a song. He breathes in the smell from Rachel cooking in the kitchen. She's in there wearing a dress shirt he wore last night to a meeting with only her panties underneath. He went out with the director, producer, Quinn and Eli to dinner last night and she came over after practice when he was already in bed. Practice for her was becoming longer as they got ready for the charity game and all her other important games that were coming up. Along with all of that, she was trying to find her perfect audition song since she would have to start trying out in late November or early December. She was going to be busy.

He's gotten a few notes out before he hears Rachel singing quietly in the kitchen. She recognized the song before he even realized what he was playing. Still not recognizing it, he strains his ears to try and hear what she's saying. His fingers seriously had a mind all on their own.

"I'll never do you no harm.

Oh darling, if you leave me. I'll never make it alone.

Believe me when I beg you, don't ever leave me alone"

Puck smiles, finally realizing what he was unintentionally playing. He gets up, carrying his guitar, still playing because let's face it, he's just that good, to go to the kitchen. She starts to sing a bit louder and he comes into the doorway, smirking at her while she dances around a little bit.

Rachel looks at him, smiling and getting a little more emotional in the song. He looks sexy in his boxers and playing the guitar, that she's just barely being able to hold herself together to keep singing. But she sees that it's turning him on just by the look in his eyes, so she moves towards him and sings, looking him in the eyes. Her right hand moves to over her heart and she starts to put arm movements into her singing.

"When you told me

you didn't need me anymore,

well you know I nearly broke down and died."

Puck starts to get into playing his guitar a little more, biting his bottom lip and trying not to grin at Rachel. He's seen enough concerts to know that they move their arms and shit when they really get into their songs. And he loves that she's getting into it in front of him. _God damn she looks sexy singing._ He gets to the end of the song and leans against the frame of the door smirking at Rachel.

"That was fun." Puck notices that she's all flushed. He hopes there's no way in hell she was embarrassed about singing in front of him. She giggles and leans against the counter, folding her arms over her chest which makes her (his) shirt raise up an inch or two.

"I think you might have found your audition song. You sounded amazing. Especially when you really started to get into it." He puts his guitar down so it's leaning on the wall next to the door. Puck starts to stalk towards her. "So hot."

"Yeah? I might have to sing it for Britt and San to see if they agree with you." She bites her lip and looks up at Puck when he stands in front of her. "You're sexy with that guitar."

His hands find her hips. "You're fucking gorgeous in my shirt and dancing around the kitchen." Puck lifts her up so she sits on the counter and moves between her legs. They automatically wrap around his hips and she leans forward to capture his lips. "I didn't realize what I was playing until you started to sing."

She hums against his lips and kisses him leisurely. "I would love to mess around with you Noah, but the food might burn."

Puck laughs and backs away a little bit. "Yes ma'am. Bring it out to the living room when you're done. We can watch TV or put in a movie."

After they've finished their food, Puck manages to get on top of Rachel, tickling her sides while he leans over and nips at her lips. She's squealing and laughing, writhing around underneath him.

"Noah! Stop!"

"Nope." He laughs as he tickles her more and she's starting to cry.

"I didn't mean to question your badassness! I'm sorry!" Her legs wrap around his waist and she tries to push him off but it doesn't work.

"I don't believe you Berry!"

Rachel bites her lip, trying to stop from laughing and giving him what he wants but he finds her most ticklish spot on her ribs and she cries out. "Pleeeeease!"

Finn walks through the door and stares at his mostly naked best friend and a barely covered Rachel on the couch. She's screaming and laughing while he's staring at how hard Puck is laughing. He hasn't seen him laugh like that in a very long time. "Um, am I interrupting?"

Puck looks over his shoulder and smirks at Finn. "Nah, you're good man." He looks down and kisses Rachel on the lips before flipping them over so she's laying back against his chest.

"Thank you for saving me Finn. I don't think he was ever going to stop tickling me."

"No problem. I think." Finn scratches the side of his nose and sits down on the chair at the end of the couch and puts his feet up on the coffee table. He's got on jeans and a v neck shirt. Pretty casual for someone who was doing business all day.

"She questioned my badassness. She deserved it." Puck laces his fingers with Rachel's right hand, setting them over her stomach. "Where's Sarah?"

Finn gives them his famous lopsided smile. "She's calling photographers over in the office at my place. I think she might be pulling her hair out. It's kind of short notice so trying to find someone who's free might be an issue. But whatever." He laughs. "Oh so dude, I kinda got this awesome email today that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah? What was it?"

"GQ wants you to be on the cover for the January issue."

"Wow really?" Rachel looks at Finn then turns to look at Puck.

"Yeah. The cover and like a two or three page interview. Kurt will somewhat be helping with the wardrobe but it'll mostly be their people. He'll just give his opinions on what looks best on you. So you in?"

"Fuck yeah I'm in."

"Really sexy guys get on the cover." Rachel bites her lip and closes her eyes, thinking of what he'd look like on the cover of a magazine.

Puck starts to tickle her when she gets the face of when she's starting to get turned on. He knows that face well. "Stop thinking." Rachel squeals and tries to stop his hands.

"Anyways, I just wanted to talk that over with you. Gotta see how your sis is handling the photographer stuff." Finn gets up and walks out of the living room, leaving Rachel and Puck by themselves again.

Rachel looks over at the clock on his DVR and sighs. "What's wrong baby?"

"I need to go home and change for practice." She turns in his arms so she's laying on top of him and pouts. "I haven't packed either."

"Want me to come over when you get done?"

"You don't have to. We're leaving early in the morning."

"Alright. Call me later then." He smirks at her and pushes her hair back.

"Mm, okay." She stands up and runs to his bedroom to put on her clothes.

She reappears wearing her shorts and her purse on her shoulder, but still dressed in his dark blue button up. He laughs and pulls her down for a kiss. "I'm going to have to buy more shirts if you keep stealing mine."

"I like your shirts."

"Yeah? Why?"

"They smell like you." She smiles against his lips and pecks them one last time before she turns to leave.

* * *

><p>Santana throws the ball to Rachel and she watches as the other half of their team try to catch her, but she gets another perfect touchdown.<p>

"Great job guys! Keep that up and we'll be on our way to the championship in no time!" Coach Schuester calls out. "Take a five minute break!"

Rachel and Brittany jog over to where Santana is sitting on the 40 yard line. Brittany hands them both a bottle of water and sits down.

"Holy shit, I feel like I'm going to die." Santana lays down on the fake grass.

"Only," Rachel looks over at the giant clock. "Three more hours."

All the girls groan as Rachel collapses onto the turf next to Santana. Brittany is catching her breath when she sees Finn and Sarah walk onto the grass. "Finn! Sarah!" She waves them over.

"Hey guys." Finn smiles and sits down. "Where's Will at? I needed to talk to him about tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Santana sits up and kisses Finn on the corner of his mouth since she's still trying to catch her breath.

"Since I can't fly out to Philly with you guys, Sarah is going to go so they can discuss the three photographers we have picked out. But I'm really hoping he'll lean towards Bryan Ryan. He's a typically a model and nature photographer but—"

"Bryan Ryan?" Santana sits up and stares at him.

"Yeah, is there something wrong?"

"He's amazing. I've always wanted my photos to turn out like his. He has a huge variety in his portfolio." Finn stares at Santana smiling.

"I saw his portfolio the other day and I think he would be good for the team photos. And for the charity game next week. He's trying to get into sports photography too. Trying to branch out or something."

She smiles. "That'd be great. Do you think I could meet him even if he doesn't do the pictures?" Santana lays back down and closes her eyes.

"Sure, I could probably set something up for after the season." Finn brushes the strand of hair off her face and looks over to Rachel and Brittany. "Rough practice?"

"You have no idea." Brittany smiles tiredly at him and looks over to Sarah. "If you come, you could come with us to dinner with Rachel's dads."

"Oh, I couldn't impose on a family dinner. I'll be fine hanging out with the rest of the team." Sarah shakes her head fast from side to side.

"It's not a big deal, really. You could tell them about Noah." Rachel mumbles out with her eyes closed.

"Finn! Come over here to my office and we'll discuss those photographers." Will calls out from across the field.

"Alright." He calls over. "I'll be over later when you're done with practice okay San?" He leans over and kisses the Latina before motioning for Sarah to come with him.

Santana waves her arm at him when the two of them walk away. She rolls over to look at her best friends. "I think we'll have a few more minutes."

"So I think I came up with an audition song." Rachel sits up and wraps her arms around her knees. "I was in Noah's kitchen cooking and he was playing his guitar. The song was just kind of random but he thinks it could be good for the audition. I want your opinions."

"What's the song?" Brittany turns towards Rachel more.

"Oh darling by the Beatles." She bites her lip nervously and looks between her two friends. They're both just blankly staring at her. Santana's eyebrows are pinched together. Do they really think it's a bad idea? Rachel starts to roll her eyes and pick at the label on her water bottle when Santana clears her throat and sits up.

"Sing a little bit of it."

"What?"

"Do it Rach. Sing part of it for us." Brittany smiles encouragingly.

So she does. Brittany sways and smiles as she sings. Santana puts her chin on her knee and watches her friend. Rachel actually just closes her eyes and imagines that she's sitting in the kitchen with Puck again singing. By the time she opens her eyes, her friends are looking at her with their eyes wide and smiling. The entire team has looked over at her. Finn, Sarah, Will and Shannon have also reappeared just watching her. She feels her cheeks burning and she takes a sip of her water.

"That was amazing Rach." Brittany reaches out to squeeze her hand.

"I think he's right." Santana grins at her friend then looks over to Finn. His eyebrows are still up and staring at Rachel.

"We shouldn't set that in stone just yet. There could be some other options as well."

* * *

><p>Rachel is sitting on the private plane as they fly to Philadelphia, listening to a playlist of songs that she has considered for her audition piece, as she stares at Sarah talking to Will. The poor girl looks like she wants to pass out. It is rather early to fly out but Will wants them to have a short practice then to relax the rest of the day. They're meeting her fathers tonight so that after the game tomorrow they can leave right after so it's not too late when they get back to New York.<p>

"I'm just not sure about this guy Sarah. Are you sure that Finn picked him out?"

Sarah and Will are sitting a few seats down from Rachel, Brittany and Santana. "Yes, he gave me the list. He's a great photographer and he's trying to get into sports photography. The team photos will look good since he's worked with models before. And the charity game will be a great time to see if he could work with the team in the future."

"But this photographer, Artie, has done sports before. He may be a bit more inexperienced but it's his field."

"We could always get both. Get Bryan to do the team photos and ask Artie to come out to the game." Sarah shrugs, hoping that she'll get him to bite on that offer.

"Bryan is a really good photographer Will. So the team photos will at least look good." Santana looks around so she can see them both.

He looks over to Santana and back to Sarah. "Alright. Use the plane phone to call Finn and let him know to get them both."

Sarah looks over to Santana and smiles. "Thank you for helping."

"No problem." Santana eases back into her seat and closes her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Papa Berries!" Santana squeals out and runs to hug Rachel's dads. Santana and Brittany were particularly fond of her dads, mostly because their parents didn't give them the type of attention that Rachel's did.<p>

"Girls!" They both yelled back and took turns hugging her friends.

Rachel laughs at the scene in front of her and looks over to Sarah. "They might squeal over you too."

"Kinda hope not. Especially since they don't know me."

She rolls her eyes at Sarah and smiles brightly to her dads. "Daddy! Dad!" She runs to her daddy first, the taller black man named Allen then on to her dad, a bit shorter than her daddy but white and Jewish. Both are extremely handsome and she's so proud to be their daughter. They both hug her tightly.

"We missed you. Now who's this?" They both peek around her to look at Sarah.

"That's Noah's sister daddy. She came with us to discuss some business with Will for the charity game next week and the team photos." She turns and looks at Sarah. "Sarah, this is my dad Nathan and my daddy Allen."

"It's nice to meet you." Sarah holds her hand out to Allen to shake it, but he grins and pulls her into a hug.

"If the girls are close enough to you to bring you to dinner, then you're close enough to receive hugs from us as well." Allen smiles and moves back to Santana and Brittany to go inside the restaurant for their reservation.

Rachel follows after them and Nathan sticks his hand out to Sarah, seeing that she's really nervous. "My husband can be a bit…affectionate in that way. You'd think he wouldn't be like that with how tall and big he is. But don't worry about it, we're not that crazy." He winks at Sarah and leads her into the door.

They're all seated and Rachel leans back into her chair. Her dads decided to go to a steakhouse seeing that they had a game tomorrow and figured the protein would be good for them. But Rachel knows that it's just an excuse to eat steak.

"Okay darling, so how long have you been dating this man?" Allen turns towards his daughter. Santana and Brittany grin widely and look to her as well.

"We're coming up on three months." She frowns slightly. "It doesn't even feel like that long since he was gone those three weeks."

"But you're still together so that's all that matters." Brittany cuts in and looks pointedly at Rachel. "They're so cute together Nate. I nicknamed them Puckleberry."

He laughs loudly and winks at his daughter. "You two are rather cute together."

She stares with wide eyes at the man in front of her. "How do you know?"

"We're not that old Rachel, or stuck in the dark ages. We know about Google." Nathan cuts in and raises an eyebrow at his daughter. He laughs when her cheeks start to turn red.

Sarah cuts in to tell them more about Noah along with Santana and Brittany and both of her fathers listen intently. But Nathan looks over and sees that Rachel has the little crease in between her eyebrows so he nudges her and nods his head towards the front door.

"We'll be back." He follows Rachel out the door.

They're leaning against the brick of the restaurant and Rachel breathes out slowly. Her dad pulls out a cigarette and lights up.

"That's awful for you, dad." She looks over at him and he gives her a slight smirk that reminds her of Puck.

"Want one?" He holds the package out to her.

"Game tomorrow. That'd kill my lungs. And I just told you they're unhealthy." She laughs.

Nathan shrugs and breathes out the smoke he just inhaled. "So what's wrong?"

Rachel looks up at her dad. He always played her conscience when her daddy spoiled her and tried to give her whatever she wanted no matter what. She puts her hands into her coat pocket and bites her lip. "Well you and daddy know that I want to try out for American Idol, but yesterday I was singing the song I thought would be great for the audition and everyone at practice stared at me afterwards."

"You know that you have a great voice Rachel. You always loved to sing." He taps on the butt of the cigarette to get rid of some of the ash.

She turns so she's leaning against the brick on her side and looking at her dad. "But I see how things go with Noah. Cameras snapping pictures when he goes out, signing random autographs all the time, girls fawning after him. Throwing drinks on his girlfriend and glaring at her whenever she's out with him or out on his own." She sighs and looks up at her dad. He looks at her concerned but she ignores it and continues. "There's a lot of pressure on being a celebrity. He handles it so well. I'm not saying that if I go that I'll be instantly famous but I'm really worried about it all now. It's not like I'm famous by being on Temptation, but American Idol is huge. Tons of people watch it. And if they think I'm horrible, I'll just be made fun of." She bites her lip to keep it from trembling. Trying to push away the tears that are threatening her eyes. "I'm really scared."

He takes a good look at Rachel and tosses down his cigarette, stepping on it with his foot. "The Rachel I know isn't scared of shit." Her eyes widen. "Yeah, we don't cuss around you baby girl, I know. But I think this is something you should do. What does Puck think?"

She smiles, happy that her dad remembers that he likes everyone to call him Puck. "He thinks I should go for it. Noah kind of helped me pick the song that I'm leaning towards for the audition."

"Which is?"

"Oh Darling by the Beatles."

He hums in agreement. "Great song."

Rachel looks down at the ground then back up at her dad. She hates feeling insecure like this. "You really think I could handle it if any of that happens?"

"You're handling it now with Puck as your boyfriend right? Instead of them, they'll just be wanting things from you. I really think you can do it pumpkin."

Sarah comes out of the front door looking slightly scared. "Our food just got to the table."

Nathan laughs. He knows how Allen can be when he gets with Santana and Brittany. It can get overwhelming, very fast. "We'll be right in." She leaves and he pulls Rachel into his arms. "It's good to see you baby girl. We miss having you around."

"I'm glad you and daddy came up for our game." She hugs him back tightly.

* * *

><p>Puck sits on the couch, flipping through random channels on his TV. He takes a glance back at his phone where the picture of Rachel and her dads sits on the screen. They weren't anything like he expected. If anything, they looked like the kind of guys that Puck would get along great with. His eyes move back to the TV and he's flipping through the channels when he sees a pair of long legs that he recognizes and the number 20 on her ass. He found the LA Temptation game on TV.<p>

He sits up and walks out into the hallway, banging on Finn and Mike's door. They both peek their head out and say 'what' at the same time.

"I found the Temptation game on TV. If you wanna watch, come over." They both open the door and move over to Puck's apartment.

Between the three of them, they split up on the couch and chairs while Puck grabs a six pack of beer and chips to put on the table. When he plops back onto the couch, Rachel gets tackled to the ground.

"Damn, those Philly girls are rough." Finn grabs a handful of chips and starts to snack on them.

Rachel shoves the girl from the other team then goes back to Santana to discuss what they're next play should be. By the time the first half ends five minutes later, the score is 22-0, and they are not winning.

"So you and Santana." Mike leans back in the armchair, tossing his right leg over the side and looking over at Finn. "That kiss she gave you the other day was pretty heated." He moves his eyebrows up and down then winks at Finn.

"Yeah dude. She has serious lady wood for you. And bad."

Finn lets out a long breath. "Look, she doesn't really do relationships. And I just got out of a real shitty one. I'm taking things slow with her."

"You're going at a snail's pace man." Mike mumbles while eating a chip.

"Who the fuck cares?" His voice gets louder. "Let me do things with San the way I want to. You and Britt share dancing, Puck and Rachel…well they bond in their own weird overpowering Jewish way. Me and San don't really have anything in common, so going slow and learning shit about each other is working for us."

"Alright alright. Don't get your panties in a bunch." Puck raises his hands in defense and grabs another beer off the coffee table.

The game starts back up and Santana is talking to the team, probably about what play she wants them to do. They split up and Puck leans back into his chair, hoping that they can get at least one touchdown so the loss doesn't sting as much. She moves to throw the ball and Rachel is running down the field, she turns to look for the ball and catches it.

"YES!" Finn and Mike scream, pumping their fists.

But then she drops the ball. Rachel bends over, ripping off her helmet and runs her hands through her pony tail, frustrated. She grabs her helmet off the grass and runs back to where the rest of her team is. Santana pulls her by the pads and puts her forehead on Rachel's, saying something quietly that only they can hear. The smaller girl pushes at Santana's shoulders and puts her helmet back on, walking away to her spot in the play.

"Is Rachel okay?" Finn looks over to Puck. They've never seen her act like that on the field. She loves being a part of that team and always gives it 120%.

"She seemed fine when I talked to her earlier." He stares at the screen in shock.

Santana looks at Rachel when she's about to throw the ball and fakes it to the other wide receiver but sends it Rachel's way. The smaller girl catches it and runs straight to the end zone, getting their first touchdown of the game. Her and Santana point at each other smiling then go to work on getting their team back up in points. They end up winning 24-22. The three of them were impressed that the team pulled it together to win in the short amount of time that they had.

When their flight gets in, Santana drives them all to the guys' building since it's closer to the airport and it's nearly 2 a.m. After they got off the plane, Rachel decided that Santana was the more awake out of all of them. They all sleepily mumble their goodbyes and Sarah lets them into Puck's apartment once Finn and Mike open up for Santana and Brittany. Sarah mumbles out a goodnight and goes to the guestroom while Rachel pushes open Puck's door and sets her bags down. He's asleep with the sheets bunched around his waist, laying on his stomach. She pulls off her clothes and crawls onto the bed, kissing her way up his bare back.

Puck stirs, thinking this is the best dream ever. He rolls over and the kisses continue on his chest. Dream Rachel is amazing, but dream Rachel has never kissed his tattoo on the inside of his bicep. His eyes open and sees his very naked girlfriend kissing his bicep while her fingers stroke his side.

"Hey baby." He reaches for her hips and pulls her up so her legs are straddling his stomach instead of his thighs. "Congrats on the win, we watched the game."

Her fingers freeze and she looks down into his eyes. "You watched it?"

"Yeah, found it when I was flipping through channels." He mumbles out sleepily. He can see that her chocolate brown eyes went from sexy to scared in a millisecond. Puck suddenly feels more awake than he did a minute ago. "What?"

"That wasn't my best game." She starts to pull away but he pulls her back down to him, her chin resting on his chest while he looks into her eyes again.

"So what was wrong."

"Just a conversation I had with my dad at dinner. I didn't sleep well that night and it just transferred over to the game. Santana told me to pull my head out of my ass and that's what I did." Rachel shrugs and idly traces shapes over his heart.

Puck lets out a sigh and closes his eyes before he opens them again. "What did you two talk about?" A tear runs down her cheek and falls onto his chest. He's her boyfriend, she should be able to talk to him about this right? Puck wipes her cheek and pulls her chin up. "Talk to me baby. I'm pretty sure this is what couples are supposed to do."

"I'm scared."

He notices that he's going to have to keep prodding at her to get the answers he needs. It's like pulling teeth. "Of?"

"Auditioning. Any attention I get from being the girlfriend of a sexy actor is slightly overwhelming, how could I handle it if I win? Or if I even get into the top ten? I don't think I can do it." Rachel bites her lip and looks into Puck's eyes.

He smirks and pulls her towards him to give her a light kiss. "You'll be able to handle it. Wanna know how I know that?" She moves her head up and down. "Because you'll have your family to back you up. And I'll be there helping you any way I can."

She lets out a little laugh and kisses his chest. "You're so good to me."

"Yeah, well I'm pretty amazing. I'm a stud, remember? So how about we rewind to the way you woke me up? Because talking about feelings and you being naked aren't going together well at the moment."

Rachel laughs as she can feel his half hard cock against her thigh. "I like that idea."

* * *

><p>The next morning Puck wakes up early and grabs a cup of coffee, looking at his phone to see what studio he has to go to for their first day of filming. He's been doing all the dress rehearsals and script read throughs when Rachel was at practice. His stuff usually started earlier than her practice, but she never minded. He however, hated getting up that early.<p>

Rachel walked into the kitchen not too long after him, dressed in her shorts and a button up shirt and kisses his cheek. "I can't believe they want us to do the team photos today after we got in so late yesterday." She yawns against his arm.

"You'll look hot anyways." He kisses the top of her head and sets his phone down to eat some cereal.

"How can you just shovel that into your mouth?" Rachel laughs and sips her coffee.

Puck pauses, spoon mid-bite, while he's still chewing with his bowl in his left hand and looks over to Rachel. The corners of her lips are tugging up in a smile. He swallows his biteful that he had in his mouth and holds the spoon over to Rachel. She rolls her eyes and eats the spoonful and walks into the living room where he proceeds to finish off his cereal in two minutes.

Sarah walks out in her pajamas and plops down in the armchair by the kitchen and yawns quietly. "What's up?" She looks at Puck and Rachel.

"Work in a bit." Puck pulls Rachel into his side and holds her hand. "Does Finn have anything planned for you today?"

She closes her eyes then looks up to the ceiling. "Don't think so."

Finn walks into the apartment, unlocking the door with his key and moves into the living room. "Hey Sarah, Rach, you guys ready?"

Rachel stands up and leans over to kiss Puck on the lips. "I'll get San to send you a picture when I'm doing my individual ones. Have a good day at work."

He pecks her lips. "You too Ray. We might have a late night so I'll call you when I can."

Finn smiles at his friends, happy to see that Puck can be in a civilized relationship, then looks down to Sarah. "Are you wearing that to the photo shoot?"

Sarah looks up at him. "What?"

"Why aren't you ready? I told you we're going to the photo shoot with the girls. Will's expecting us in twenty minutes."

She jumps up and runs to her bedroom. "TWO MINUTES!" She yells out and they hear a small thud.

Brittany and Santana walk into Puck's apartment and look around. "What are we waiting for. Rachel's ready." Finn groans and hits his head against the wall next to the opening to the kitchen. "Finn, stop it." Santana pulls him back and wraps her arms around him.

"Sarah's not ready so Hudson is kinda freaking out." Puck shrugs and looks at his phone. "Aw shit, I gotta go." He slips his phone into his pocket, pulling out his keys and wraps his arms around Rachel. "You comin' by the studio after the shoot?"

Finn looks up at his friend. "Yeah. I'll be there."

Puck kisses the side of Rachel's head and waves bye to everyone. As he walks out the door, Sarah comes barreling out of hers, slipping on high heels and brushing her teeth. Everyone stares at her oddly and she stands there then turns around rapidly to go to the bathroom and spit out the toothpaste.

"'Kay I'm ready." She smiles up at Finn and he just shakes his head.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>Puck's sitting in his trailer in the Army uniform that the costume designer put him in and stares at his phone. Santana just sent two pictures of Rachel doing her individual shot that will be used for the western conference game program and the championship programs as well if they win said conference game. One is with her looking over her shoulder, left hand on her hip and smiling at the camera with paint on her face and loose curls falling down her shoulder. The other one is a full frontal shot with a football in her right hand and her left hand on her hip again. He feels the need to take care of himself but then Finn calls. Why can't he just admire his girlfriend's uniform without being interrupted all the time?<p>

"Hey man what's up?" Puck leans back in his chair.

"I'm going to kill your sister."

Puck laughs. "Not the first time I've heard that Hudson. What'd she do?"

"She's falling asleep man. I get it, we're all tired. But she's gotta act a little professional."

"I'll buy you some beer later to make up for it." Finn moans on the other side. "It's her first job, what do you expect Finn? I'll buy her a damn Blackberry so she can remember shit alright? Listen I gotta get on set. See ya in a bit."

"Yeah, see ya."

Finn walks over towards the cameras where Bryan gathered them around for the team shot. Will and Shannon are standing off to the side while he gets all the girls then calls in the coaches. Sarah is half asleep, standing against the wall. He walks over to her and nudges her.

"You need to wake your ass up. When we're done here I'm going to take you back over to our apartment so you can take my car and buy a Blackberry to get all your appointments in one spot. I'll give you my debit card. Then I'll need you to call Artie to make sure he's confirmed for tomorrow at three for the charity game. Got it?"

Sarah nods. "Yeah Finn. I'm sorry about this morning."

He holds up his hand. "Save it. We're just as tired as you are. Fuck, San, Rach and Britt are probably worn out but they're still smiling and shit. Follow their lead." Finn walks away and watches Bryan take a few more shots of the entire team.

A few hours later after the everyone has showered and gotten refreshed, Finn decides to bring Rachel, Santana and Brittany to the set to see Puck work. They make it on right before they start to begin the scene over again. Finn grabs them a few seats near the director's chair and they watch the makeshift town street that has been built in the studio for this part of the movie.

"Action!" The director leans forward to watch the screen that's focused on the street in front of them.

_Quinn is walking across the street fast from inside a building. A few seconds later the door slams open and Puck runs out into the street, grabbing her arm. "Audrey stop!" _

_She turns around and stares at him in his Army uniform with tears rolling down her face. "James, I can't do this." She says quietly and wipes at her face angrily. "How could you go and join Special Forces? That's the most dangerous thing you can do! They get sent to places they wouldn't send normal infantry. I didn't think that when you enlisted that this would be happening."_

"_Nothing will happen! And these guys are more than just Special Forces. Donny is joining them too." He motions over towards Eli. "We got each other's backs. You gotta trust me. You're my girl, I have something to come home to." _

"_They all say that James! Have you seen how many cars have come into our neighborhood to give out letters saying that their sons have died?" She slaps her hand over her mouth and turns around._

_Puck wraps his arms around her waist from behind. "That won't be me. It won't be us. And it won't be Donny. Trust us." _

_Quinn turns in his arms and looks at him then over to Eli, crying. She looks up at Puck and bites her lip. "Okay. I trust you." _

_Puck smiles and grabs her face to kiss her deeply. _

"_You have to tell me more about it though." _

_He swipes the tears away from his cheeks. "Anything you want." _

"Cut!" The director jumps out of his seat and walks over to Quinn to talk to her about the next scene. Puck walks over to grab a water when he notices that they're all sitting down and smiling at them.

"Hey." He walks up to Rachel and leans down to kiss her but she puts her hands up on his chest.

"I'm sorry, but I'd feel weird kissing you after you just kissed Quinn." She kisses his cheek instead.

"Oh, yeah, sorry baby."

"That accent is atrocious." Santana laughs.

"Well it is Boston so ya know." He shrugs and rolls his eyes. "Director doesn't seem to mind. And you've heard Eli's in _Inglourious Basterds_. That was pretty bad too."

"You look handsome Puck." Brittany smiles at him. "And I hate to say this, but the dress Quinn is wearing is really cute."

Rachel and Santana tilt their heads to the side and look at Quinn. The latter groans. "Sadly, yes. Bitch." Santana leans back in her chair and crosses her legs. "Can I steal this chair? It'd be perfect to sit in while I do my makeup."

"Um, nope." Finn laughs and holds her hand.

Puck pulls his chair over and sets it next to Brittany. "He seemed to like that shot so he may let us out for dinner soon."

Santana and Brittany are asking him questions about random things on set when Rachel stiffens and grips Santana's arm tightly. "Fuck Rach, get your nails out of my skin." She pushes at Rachel's hand then looks over to where her friend is looking. She groans internally.

"Well, well. I didn't expect to see you on set Rachel." Holly says from behind Puck. Her hand lands on his shoulder.

"And I didn't expect to see you either Holly." Rachel crosses her arms over her chest.

Finn looks between the three girls and moves behind Santana's seat, resting his hands on her shoulders. He doesn't know what must have happened at that lunch months ago, but he didn't like it. Puck seems to sense it too, because he gets up and walks behind Rachel, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I actually didn't expect to see you here either. What's up?" Puck looks over at Holly who decided to sit in his chair that had 'Puckerman' on the back of it.

"I was going to talk to you about the premiere of _Fright Night_ next week. Quinn is going and I wanted to know if you would like to go as well." She smiles innocently up at him, ignoring the glares from Rachel, Brittany and Santana.

"Yeah, sounds great. Baby you wanna go?"He moves to the side of her chair so he can look down at her face.

"But you'd have to go with Quinn." Holly looks at him with heated eyes.

"Why would I go with her? Rachel is my girlfriend. If I'm going to take anyone to a premiere I'd either go with her or one of the guys. Possibly Santana and Brittany if I had to, no offense. But I'm not going anywhere with Quinn where they might start up shit in the press." Santana and Brittany both wave at him, dismissing him and understanding completely.

"I only have one ticket for you Puck. I don't even know if there's even going to be another seat available." She stands up, arms crossed over her chest, ready to have a full blown argument with him.

"Look Holly, he said he wants to go with Rachel. Get on the phone and work your magic to get him another seat. It's not that fucking hard. He's paying you to do that." Finn moves his arms to cross over his chest and looks at her pointedly.

"Of course." She puts on a fake smile and walks away, her heels clicking on the ground.

"I don't like her." Brittany pouts and looks over to Rachel and Santana.

"Join the club." Santana crosses her legs. "So can we get food or not?"

"We can order something in my trailer." Puck laces his fingers with Rachel's and leads them out the door.

Brittany turns around to look at Holly and sees her standing with Quinn, both of them talking silently while looking at their group. She gets a weird feeling deep down and she doesn't like it at all.

* * *

><p><em>I really wanted to get this up yesterday, but I had a hard time writing it. I don't think I really like this chapter. It felt forced. Anyways, opinions on the song Puck and Rachel picked out for the audition? Like it, don't like it? Also, it's based on Sara Bareilles singing Oh Darling, look it up on youtube. She sounds amazing, but it's based on the Beatles lyrics, not the way she changed them up. If anyone has any ideas for her audition song please let me know. I realize that it's October in the story and Fright Night is coming out this week in August, but you know, whatever :) If you guys have any ideas on something you'd like to happen in the next chapter, I'm open to ideas! <em>

_**Also, I'm trying to reply to anyone who sends a review! Just to show how much I appreciate the reviews, they really do encourage me to write longer chapters and faster to get them out to yall. I might have come up with a new story too, but I wouldn't post it till I finished one of my stories. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far! You guys rock.**  
><em>


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Glee or anything else in this that could get me sued! **

* * *

><p>The morning of the charity game, Puck stands in front of the fridge at the condo and looks for any sign of beer that the girls said was there that they bought for the game. He huffs and closes the door rather forcefully before he hears the knock on the front door. None of the girls come out of their room since they're getting ready so he walks over and opens it.<p>

A man with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes stares at him with a half smile on his face. "Hawthorne! 'Bout time you got here." He bumps fists with the man in front of him and opens the door wider.

"Good to see you too Puck. Shit this place is nice, way better than barracks." He looks around and walks into the hall leading to the living room.

Puck sits on the loveseat while Connor sits on the couch. "I see you grew your hair out a little bit. And some scruff. How are you not getting chewed out for it?" Puck laughs and leans back into the chair.

Connor runs his fingers through his hair then down rubbing his cheek, landing on his chin and rubbing the area. "They're not too picky about it at the moment. We just got back from the field anyways and we have the rest of the week off. Figured I'd leave it and just cut it all on Sunday when I gotta get back to duty."

"Well we have plenty of available rooms between all of us so if you wanna stay you can. The girls are pretty sweet cooks."

Rachel walks out of her room in her black workout shorts and a purple shirt that's been tied in the back but pulled up to just under her breasts. She runs her fingers through her curls and walks out to the loveseat, bending over to lace up her shoes.

"Dude, stop staring." Puck glares at his friend.

Connor puts his hands up in defense. "Man, I'm sorry. But your pictures of Rachel didn't do her any justice."

Rachel's head snaps up and she looks over to the couch. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize Noah was talking to anyone." She stands up and leans over to shake his hand. "I'm Rachel."

"Hawthorne. Well, Connor but whichever you wanna call me is fine. The guys in my company call me by my last name."

"It's nice to meet you Connor." She smiles, sits back down and continues to lace up her shoes.

"Rach, I don't know if you remember when I was on Letterman, but he showed a picture of us during training. This is the guy that I got pretty close to."

"I helped him pack all his gear since he apparently doesn't know how to pack shit." Connor laughs.

"In _my_ defense, they have a lot of crap that goes into a backpack. Everything has to packed in a precise way." Puck glares at Connor.

"Oh that's right! I remember now." She leans back into the chair and narrows her eyes at him. "Are you the one who talked Noah into getting a tattoo?"

He grins and looks over to Puck and shrugs. "Guilty."

Rachel laughs. "I'll have to find a way to thank you. It looks great on him. Are you staying for the game?"

"Puck said I could stay for the rest of the week and the weekend, so yeah. The guys have been dying to go see a game, but most of them are flying out to see family since we have so much time off this week."

"It's pretty rare for them to get more than two days off babe." Puck shrugs and puts his arm up on the back of the couch.

"Oh, why aren't you seeing your family?" Rachel sets her hand on Puck's thigh.

Connor smiles at her. "I'm an only child so my dad decided to work as a civilian on a base in England and they wouldn't have to worry about a kid here. Since I'm on my own and I obviously have somewhere to live, they decided to move. It'd almost be a waste of a trip to go see them with how long the flights would be, I'd really only get a day or two with them. They get to travel around Europe, so it's not a big deal to me. But Puck and I got close while he was training with us. He's kind of like a bro so he said I could come up down here when we talked the other day. Plus I get to see them when we get extended leave for major holidays."

"Well we're happy to have you here! He's told me a lot about you." She smiles brightly at him.

"Glad to be here. Usually I just hang around on base and sleep." He shrugs and looks down the hall when Santana and Brittany come out wearing identical outfits to Rachel.

"Who's this?" Santana looks at Connor and sits down in the chair while Brittany sits on the couch.

"That would be Connor. A Marine that Noah met when he went to train." Rachel looks over to Brittany and they both smile. "A Marine!" They squeal out and start to laugh.

"Um, what?" Puck looks over to Santana.

"Haven't you ever seen _Grease?_" The two men both shake their heads no. Santana sighs. "Well during the sleep over scene, one of the girls writes to a ton of guys who are serving in the military. One of them is a marine, and when she tells Sandy that all the girls go "A Marine!" in high squeaky voices." She shrugs. "You'll end up watching it one day now that Rach knows you haven't seen it." She grins evilly at Puck.

"I see…" Puck pulls Rachel into his side and kisses her hair.

"Where's Finn and Sarah? Mike said he'd meet us at the game." Brittany pulls her feet up and sets them onto Connor's lap. He looks down at them then over to Puck.

"She does that to everyone so don't worry. It's like being welcomed into the group. They're getting the photographers squared away. They'll meet us over at the game too. Do you know who you're playing yet?"

Rachel bites her lip and looks over to her friends. "The local fire department."

"Are you shitting me?" Puck pulls away from her and looks between the three girls. "You're playing flag football with a bunch of ripped firemen? How long have you known about this?"

"Will said that they've been to every home game and they're raising money for the cancer society. All the money we make from the game will be given towards it." Brittany tries to cushion the blow a bit. She can tell it doesn't really work since Puck is still upset. "And we only found out about it yesterday."

Connor clears his throat. "Next time you do a charity game we could try and get the guys from my platoon to do it." He looks over at Puck. "You know them and it could go to the Wounded Warrior thing."

"I like that idea better." Puck puts his arm around Rachel again and murmurs a soft apology into her ear.

"We'll talk to Will about it." She smiles up at him.

"It's time to go to the park." Santana stands up and pulls down her shorts from where they had ridden up a bit. Everyone stands up as well and follows her out the front door. "You two being all lovey and ridiculous is going to make me nauseous."

"Aw San, you kill me." Puck moves his hand over his heart.

Puck and Connor sit in the front, talking about football and how the rules are different to lingerie football. Rachel sits in the back between Brittany and Santana who are whispering over her about Connor.

"Did you know that he was so hot?" Brittany looks at Rachel and nudges her arm.

"Well, sort of? We saw a picture of him when Noah was on Letterman, but they were all dirty." She shrugs. "He is more attractive in person." They all look at the back of his head.

"More attractive? Look at what you're saying Rach." Santana rolls her eyes. "He's a hot piece of ass."

"San! We're all taken. Well you're practically taken with Finn. So it doesn't matter." Rachel whispers harshly and glares at the girl to her right.

"Whatever. Doesn't mean we can't look. And that could be an all sorts of hotness threesome."

"She's right Rach." Brittany giggles and looks at Connor out of the corner of her eye.

"You two are shameless!" She sinks into her chair and looks out the windshield, hoping that they get to the park soon.

Connor laughs in the front seat, hearing everything that they just said. "Are they always arguing like that?"

Puck glances over his shoulder when Rachel is 'whispering' to Santana. "Basically. You get used to it and it can actually get really entertaining."

Finn and Mike wave them all over to the makeshift bleachers that have been set up. Once they get there, the girls leave their purses by their feet on the grass then head over to stretch with the rest of the team. Puck and Connor sit next to Finn and knock their sunglasses down over their eyes.

"Hey man, I'm Finn. This is Mike." They all shake hands.

"Hawthorne or Connor. Whichever you wanna go by." He leans on his knees and looks over to the guys.

"Did you know they're playing the fire department?" Puck looks over at Finn, though his friend can't see the glare he's giving him.

"Yeah. But not till a few days ago when they narrowed it down. They didn't confirm until yesterday when the captain said that he could get another group of men to cover." He shrugs.

"They're all more interested in playing actual football with them and raising money. Sure they think the girls are hot, but they're excited over the fact that they know the actual game instead of acting all girly and scared of the ball. We talked to a few of them before you guys got here." Mike smirks over at Puck, knowing that'll calm him down.

"You guys want anything to drink? I see beer and I could really go for one." Connor stands up.

"Yeah, sure." They all grin when he walks off.

"So that's the guy from the tattoo parlor picture?" Finn nudges Puck's arm and looks over to where Connor is grabbing four beers.

"Yep. He's cool, you'll like him."

"He's a Marine and serving our country. He's alright in my book." Finn looks over at Connor. The military has a special place in his heart since his dad died while serving with the Army. He would always donate things to any military fundraisers that he saw.

Puck notices the small smile on Finn's face, knowing he's thinking about his dad. "He actually had an idea. That for the next charity game they do that he could try and get the guys from his platoon to play against Temptation. Give the proceeds to Wounded Warrior."

Finn's eyes light up. "Really? That'd be amazing. I could talk to Will about it and see what he thinks."

Mike laughs. "That would be a game I'd like to see. He seems cool."

Connor walks back and hands them all a beer just as the game is about to begin. Brittany is actually playing on offense with Rachel and Santana. They just broke out of the huddle and they all look over to the guys, sending them a wink. The guys respond with a wink of their own except for Connor. Santana and Brittany pull down their sunglasses, as do Finn and Mike but Rachel is still staring at them. She kind of cocks her head to the side and it's like Puck can read her mind. He nudges Connor.

"She's waiting for a response."

Connor looks at him, pulls up his sunglasses on top of his head and pinches his eyebrows together. "What?"

"She winked at all of us and you didn't respond. She's waiting."

"Aren't you going to beat my ass if I wink at your girl?"

Puck laughs loudly and looks over to Rachel. A small smile is playing on her lips while they wait for the firemen to break out of their huddle. "Nah. 'Cause you're not trying to hook up with her. Rachel just wants you to feel welcome. So just do it before she goes bat shit crazy on you after the game."

Rachel stares at her boyfriend and Connor. Finn and Mike are laughing about something, so she moves her eyes over to Connor. The poor guy has a crease between his eyebrows as Puck explains something to him. When Puck's eyes meet hers she smiles then looks back over to his friend. Connor's eyes snap over to hers and lingers for a minute before he smiles and winks back. Her smile instantly brightens and she looks into Puck's eyes, then blows him a kiss before putting her sunglasses on.

Puck laughs to himself and puts his sunglasses back on. "So who do you think will win?"

"Firemen." Connor comments casually, taking a sip of his beer.

"What! No. You've never seen the girls play. Well actually I don't know if you have or haven't, but I think they will." Finn defends his girls.

"But they're guys. Look at the quarterback for the LAFD, he has way more muscle than San so he'll probably throw it further and harder." Mike leans over at nods at Connor, letting him know he agrees.

"The girls are smaller and faster." Puck adds in, taking a sip of his beer. "Shall we bet?"

Finn eyes his friend, granted no one can see past his sunglasses. He thinks it's just implied. "What are the stakes?"

Mike purses his lips and thinks thoughtfully. "A beer."

Puck laughs. "Are you serious? Let's make this interesting. A hundred and fifty bucks. Winners get $50, so twenty five each, then a hundred goes to the charity."

"What?" Finn and Mike yell out and Connor just laughs.

"C'mon. We're not all hurting for cash. It's for a good cause." Puck smirks at his best friends.

"I'm in." Connor pulls out his wallet, grabs the cash he has and waves it around. "I won't even have to go to the ATM."

Puck pulls out his wallet. "Same here."

Mike sighs. "Alright. So me and Connor against you and Finn." The two put their wallets back. "'Kay man, we're cheering for them. Better hope they don't kill us afterwards."

By the time Temptation has made another touchdown, Connor and Mike have drank three beers and they're having a hard time controlling all the cuss words that are threatening to come out. Sarah sits next to Mike, watching the game with an irritated expression on her face. Artie is running along the field at times to get certain shots, but at other times he's camped out on one end zone to get shots while Bryan camps out on the other side getting his shots. She's glad that Will decided to hire both, seeing how they would be exhausted from running back and forth. All the guys ignore her heated gaze towards the photographers, interested in seeing how the game will turn out.

At half time, Mike and Connor go to get more beer since they're losing. Finn laughs, talking about how dejected the Asian is acting and Puck can't help bend over with his head between his knees because he can't stop laughing. He's practically wheezing when the girls walk up to them.

"Why does Mike look so sad? And Connor too." Brittany breathes out heavily, trying to catch her breath from all the running they've been doing.

"They're upset because he's losing the little bet we've got going on." Finn laughs and hooks his hands behind Santana's thighs, pulling her towards him.

"Oh." Brittany smiles at them and walks over to talk to her boyfriend and their new friend. "Be right back!" She calls over her shoulder.

Rachel smiles at the blonde and looks down to her boyfriend. She bites her lip and sits on his lap. "Enjoying the game?" She wipes the bead of sweat off his forehead.

"Yep. You gotta make sure you win for me babe." He presses a gentle kiss to the bottom of her throat.

"Me too." Finn nudges Rachel's leg with his knee.

"Why do we have to win so bad?" Santana sits on Finn's lap running her fingers through his hair, facing Rachel and Puck.

"So we can win our money." Puck shrugs like it's not a big deal and kisses Rachel's shoulder.

She gasps and looks between the two men. "You bet on a charity game?"

"A hundred bucks goes to the charity." Finn puts up his hands in defense "Then fifty gets split between the two who picked correctly.". He doesn't need Rachel being mad at him. Or Santana. They're both terrifying when they're upset. The worst is when Brittany is upset though.

"Well in that case…" Santana laughs and nudges her knee against Rachel's. "I think we should get the winning money if we win. What do you think Rach?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Finn and Puck start to protest but Rachel stands up.

"You wouldn't want us to lose on purpose would you?" She flutters her eyelashes to Puck.

"Shit baby, you can't threaten stuff like that."

She leans forward and brushes her lips against his. "I can do anything I want."

Finn groans when Santana stands up. "Fine. You can have the money if you win. Just don't lose on purpose. Please?"

Santana kisses him on the lips. "Deal." She looks over to Rach. "You're good."

Puck frowns. "Can you two have mental discussions or something that we don't know about?"

"We're like Marshall and Lily. We can talk to each other in our minds and Brittany too." Rachel shrugs. "See you after the game." She winks at Puck.

Will calls all his players back over while the LAFD are huddled together on their side of the field. Sarah, Mike and Connor walk back over. They're wobbling a bit, so it's fair to say that they have contributed a lot to the cancer society by buying beer alone.

"Shit." Puck looks at the makeshift scoreboard not too long after the game started up again. The fire department managed to catch up.

"Haa, who might be the losers now!" Mike slurs and laughs, reaching over to fist bump with Connor.

"That's right!" Connor points to Finn and Puck, laughing and cheers loudly for the fire department, Mike joining in with him.

Puck groans. "C'mon!" He yells to no one in particular. Rachel looks over and catches his eyes. He knows how much she hates to lose.

Santana huffs out angrily. She's having a blast playing against the department, it's the most fun she's had in a game in a long time. But who doesn't like to win money? Especially when she could shove it in Mike and Connor's faces when it's all over with. Either way, they have a hand in getting a hundred more dollars to the charity, which would make her way happier. She breathes in when she gets the ball into her hands and sees the perfect opportunity with Brittany down the field. Completely. Open. She throws the ball and holds her breath. Brittany catches it and falls over into the end zone. She lets out a scream and runs with Rachel down towards the blonde.

Brittany bounces up and hugs her friends tightly. "That was so fucking awesome Britt!" Santana squeals.

Rachel laughs and pulls Brittany in for a kiss. "Amazing."

The fire department groans, and not because of the kiss though they did like that too, but because they lost. The teams walk and give each other high fives. Bryan pulls both teams together to get a picture together before he packs up his gear and leaves. Artie sticks around to take pictures of the Temptation team signing autographs and posing for pictures with everyone who bought tickets to watch the game. The firefighters actually manage to go over to Puck and talk with him, getting him to sign a few things as well.

Brittany walks over to Mike and Connor who are sulking as Puck and Finn talk to the group of men. "Are you guys okay?" She wraps her arms around both of their waists, kissing Mike's shoulder.

"We just lost a hundred a fifty dollars." Connor looks to the ground, sad.

She smiles. "But it's going to a good cause."

"We're not sad about that hun, we just don't like how they're bragging about it." Mike shrugs. "It was honestly a great game."

"It really was. They did a great job." Connor smiles.

Santana and Rachel walk over, hands on their hips. "We'd like our fifty dollars." Santana holds out her hand, wiggling her fingers around.

Connor looks at Mike and half smiles. "Here ya go ladies."

Rachel takes her money and walks over to donate it. Santana groans and follows her, donating her part too. When they get back Rachel looks up to the two men. "Now you won't have to feel completely shitty about losing."

Mike rolls his eyes. "I'm not sober enough to drive and I have contributed a lot of money to this game. You owe us some real good food soon."

She looks at her friend then over to Brittany. "He's drunk so he's not even making sense anymore."

Puck and Finn join them, putting their arms around the girls. "Great game ladies." Finn laughs at Mike babbling to Brittany while Connor looks like he's ready to go to sleep.

"Thank you Finn. But I think we're all ready for a nap." Rachel yawns and leans into Puck.

* * *

><p>After the game, Mike, Finn, Santana and Brittany went over to their respective apartments in Puck's building while him, Rachel, Connor and Sarah went over to the condo. It was decided that Connor could stay in Santana's room since she and Finn wanted to figure out where their relationship was headed. Puck wasn't too sure since he wasn't paying that much attention.<p>

Sarah is currently dragging Rachel to the door so that she can grab a beer out of the fridge after the day she had. "C'mon Rach, hurry up!"

Rachel inserts the key and pushes the door open, letting Sarah dart to the kitchen. She turns around and huffs at Puck then moves towards her bedroom. "I'm taking a shower then taking a nap."

Puck sighs and moves into the kitchen. "The room at the very end of the hall is San's if you wanna drop your bag off in there." Connor nods and walks down the hallway while Puck stares at his sister. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"That Bryan guy yelled at me!"

Sarah takes a big gulp of beer and leans against the counter, tears forming in her eyes. "Well you gonna tell me what he said?"

Sarah takes a deep breath. "So Will wanted both photographers there to do the charity game. And let's face it, we obviously needed them both by how much was going on in the game. When Bryan saw that Artie was there, he got really offended. He was going on about how it's highly unprofessional to have two different photographers there, especially one that is less experienced than him. Anyways, so I'm trying to explain why we got both him and Artie and he's going on and on yelling at me. Will comes over and of course when he explains it, Bryan calms down at walks off to do his job. Why wouldn't he listen to me?"

"He probably doesn't trust you because you're Finn's assistant." Puck says calmly.

"I was just doing my job! He shouldn't have yelled at me. That's unprofessional."

"Well how hard could it be to do your job?" Connor cuts in. Puck and Sarah both look over to him, not noticing that he walked back into the kitchen. Her jaw drops. He rolls his eyes at her. "If you were just doing what you were told, you could've just ignored his attitude."

"Excuse me, we're not all ignorant boneheads. You don't even have a degree." She lands a hand onto her hip while the other holds her beer.

"The fuck did you just say to me?" Connor walks in further into the kitchen. Puck stands up a little straighter and looks over to his friend. "I don't see you with a fancy degree under your belt sweetheart. And I know plenty of Marines with a degree who still want to defend their country. And they're some of the smartest guys I know. They have great instincts and they're not afraid when someone yells at them over something stupid. And he probably didn't want to listen to you, because Finn is your boss and Will was the man who wanted him there, so he'd rather hear it from someone higher up. Would you want some guy's assistant trying to talk to explain shit to you? No, you'd probably want to talk to their boss to get better answers. That's how the real world works sweetie."

"You're going to let him talk to me like that Noah?" Sarah looks at him and puts her beer down on the counter.

_Damnit_. "Sarah, you know I love you. And for fuck's sake, I really wonder why sometimes. Ma and I worked our asses off to give you anything you wanted when we could and honestly I think we spoiled you a bit. You didn't have to work for anything in your life. Shit, you dropped out of college. I gave you some place to live while you're here trying to figure out what you wanna do and Finn was crazy enough to just hand you a job. But I have to agree with him on this one. Hawthorne here gets yelled at every day, sometimes even multiple times a day. But if he doesn't do his job right, people could die. He's seen shit that you can't even imagine." He scrubs his hands over his head. "Fuck now I'm ranting . Just grow up Sarah and handle your job like an adult." He turns to Connor. "I'm sorry man." He shakes his head. "I gotta go lay down." Connor nods understanding completely. He slaps his shoulder and walks off towards Rachel's room.

Puck walks into Rachel's room and sees her laying on her left side with wet hair against the pillow. He strips off his clothes and crawls onto the bed, putting his arm around her, spooning her.

"What's wrong?" She asks in a small, tired voice.

"Connor and Sarah. She called him an ignorant bonehead."

She turns in his arms and looks into his eyes. "Why would she say that?"

"She was complaining about Bryan yelling at her. I don't really understand what just happened, but I'm sick of her acting like a spoiled bitch. I didn't realize that I fucked up by babying her all these years."

Rachel puts her hand on his cheek. "You're a wonderful brother and you did what you thought you had to so she could have a better future. I think Sarah just took you for granted."

"I agreed with him you know. He takes it when someone yells at him over something stupid. You, San and Britt don't yell back at your coaches when you do something wrong. She has to act like an adult. She's 21 now."

She rubs the crease in between his eyebrows. "You're getting a migraine, I can tell. Get some sleep baby." Rachel kisses him on the lips and strokes the back of his head until he's asleep.

Sarah stands there with her jaw dropped. Connor leans against the counter where Puck was. "Anything else you'd like to get off your chest?" His jaw ticks from where he's trying not to grind his teeth together.

"He's never talked to me like that." Sarah looks down to the ground, tears building up in her eyes.

"What?" He breathes out, shocked by how defeated she sounds.

"I've never wanted to disappoint him and I have. He's never sounded like he's resented me before." Sarah walks over to the patio and sits on one of the chairs outside.

Connor follows her out and closes the door. He leans against the small wall with the railing on it and looks down at her. "I'm sure dealing with snobby people must suck and I'm sorry I judged you, but my job isn't exactly a cakewalk either. Actually, it's quite a lot of pressure. It's because of guys like me that let you work with assholes in the first place." She looks up at him, slightly shocked like she just realized something.

"I know." She cries out. "God, I'm such a brat."

"No, you're not." She looks at him like he's crazy. He laughs lightly. "You just need someone who'll challenge you and help you make the right decisions that you need to make. No one here is going to want to do that because of Puck. As your brother, he just wants what's best for you. He didn't get to be carefree like you did. He just knows what it's like to work hard. You just haven't found something that you think is worth the effort."

"You don't know anything about me, but you managed to talk down to me and encourage me at the same time." She laughs dryly.

"Sarah, you don't know how lucky you are. I wish I had an older brother or sister to push me in the direction that I needed when I needed it. But I luckily got that by enlisting. They encouraged me to try and push to make myself greater. That's why I joined Recon." He nudges her foot with his, making her look up at him. "Puck and Finn love you, that's why they just handed you those things. They don't want to see you fail, so just work harder."

She bites her lip and takes in his appearance, his arms crossed over his chest. "I do like being Finn's assistant. I don't know if I necessarily love it, but seeing clients happy is a good feeling. Will was really happy when both Bryan and Artie were showing him a few of their shots after the game."

"Looks like you're on your way to finding what you love." He smiles at her. "C'mon. I haven't been down to a pool in forever that wasn't used for some sort of training. I saw one before we came up. You can vent a little more if you like."

"Actually, could you tell me about your job?"

"Sure. Well what I can of it." He winks and pushes her through the patio door.

* * *

><p>Mike walks into his apartment, wobbling into his bedroom and collapsing face down onto the bed. Brittany giggles and walks in behind him, stripping off her shirt and changing into one of his.<p>

"Mikie?"Brittany sits down next to him, running her fingers along his spine.

"Yeah?" He says out, muffled by the pillow.

"Can I ask you something?"

He turns so he's laying on his side and looking up at her. "Of course baby." He reaches out and tangles his fingers with hers.

"How do Holly and Quinn know each other?"

"Quinn is a client of hers, along with Puck. Why do you ask?"

She crosses her legs and sits in front of him. Looking down at their fingers, she squeezes them then looks back into his eyes. "You know that we went to the studio to see Puck working when you had a full day of classes to teach the other day?" He nods. "Well Holly came over to ask him something and when we were leaving to go order food in his trailer, I looked back and noticed that they were talking together."

Mike sits up and tilts his head. "Holly was at the studio? What'd she want?"

Brittany is taken aback by the way he seemed so shocked that she was there. Isn't that something agents do? "Asking him if he wanted to go to a premiere next week. But then she said that she had only gotten him a seat and Quinn one, saying they had to go together or something like that. I don't really remember but he wasn't too happy about it. Finn wasn't either."

"But Holly knows that he's in a relationship with Rachel, so why would she do that? It's her job to do it." He furrows his brows together and looks down at his comforter.

"I don't think she knows how to do her job." Brittany mumbles and lays down, pulling Mike with her. "Okay, so Quinn is Holly's client. How did her and Finn start dating?"

He blows out a steady stream of air before he talks. "Well…two and a half years ago, she wasn't too popular. I don't know if you really checked in on her and Puck's career or not. I was busy doing ballroom competitions to try and build up my resume so I could eventually open up my own studio, and to get better jobs in movies and what not. Finn was helping with Puck, trying to get him any role that he could get an audition for. There was one that Puck went to and Finn went along with him. Finn saw Quinn and she was struggling with something pertaining to her audition so he asked if she had an agent. Obviously she didn't, or else she wouldn't have been so confused with whatever her issue was. So he helped her out. Eventually that turned from her being to his client to being his girlfriend. I guess the rest you pretty much know from there."

"What about Holly and Puck?"

Mike wasn't too sure why she was asking all these questions but he figured it was important to her since she's probably worried about Rachel. "She's the daughter of some guy who owns a pretty big PR company. She just graduated from UCLA and Puck was her first client. Then they introduced Quinn shortly after she and Finn became an item, thinking she probably needed a publicist since her career was growing. The two hit it off immediately. So Holly decided to take Quinn under her wing too." He laughs. "Now they're two of the company's biggest clients. Anyways, Holly and Puck were…fucking around. It worked out for them. I would be out of town doing my own thing and the four of them would go on dates. But Puck didn't want that type of relationship anymore, wanting to focus on his career. It made sense really. Holly just never really got over it." He yawns.

"They wouldn't do anything to jeopardize Rachel and Puck's relationship would they?" She cuddles up next to Mike, kissing underneath his jaw.

"Of course not." He pulls her in close until they both fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Rachel wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing. She reaches over and accidentally knocks a few books over until she finds the offending object. "What?" She mumbles out. Puck tightens his grip on her, snuggling his face into her hair.<p>

"I need you and Britt to meet me. Mall. ASAP."

The line gets quiet and she pulls it back to see that Santana hung up. Is she supposed to call Brittany? What was the emergency? She groans and puts her face down into the pillow when her phone chirps with a message. She glares down at the object.

_Brittany: Did San just call you?_

She sighs, types out a response and gets out of bed. Puck is lightly snoring, so she goes to her closet and pulls out the first items she finds. Walking over to the chair, she grabs her purse and stuffs her feet into some boots. There's no one in the living room, so she opens Brittany's door first. Lord Tubbington runs out and towards the bathroom where his litter box is. She shakes her head and looks in to see Sarah is fast asleep. Rachel closes the door and heads down to Santana's room. Connor is laying on his stomach with no shirt on, a tattoo in between his shoulder blades, but he's looking at his phone. He looks over to her and smiles.

"What's up?"

"San called with some sort of an emergency." She yawns. "I'm going to meet her and Britt. When they wake up, tell them I'll bring dinner back when I'm done. Do you have any allergies?"

He looks at her like she's crazy. "No, and I'll eat anything you put in front of me." She laughs and turns to walk out the door. "Hey."

"Yes?"

"Drink something cold before you drive. You look like you're still waking up and that'll help at least a little."

"Thanks Connor." She smiles warmly at him and closes the door.

* * *

><p>Santana sits in the food court where they normally meet, holding her coffee tightly and looking around for her friends. She spots the long blonde hair and brown wavy hair walking towards her. She takes in the appearance of her best friends, sleepy but Brittany is dressed in shorts, boots and a shirt. Rachel looks a little less put together, dark jeans with brown boots and a black shirt.<p>

"Did you get dressed in the dark Rachel?"

"You said to get here ASAP. I grabbed the first things I saw. So why do you need us here so fast that you didn't even stay on the phone for one minute to explain." She takes the coffee out of Santana's death grip, taking a sip and passes it to Brittany before it's back and clenched in her fingers.

"Finn wants to go out to dinner tonight."

"And?" Brittany leans her elbows on the table.

"We're going to discuss…feelings." She whispers and looks around.

They both laugh and fall over each other. "Oh no, big scary feelings." Rachel teases.

"What if he wants me to be his girlfriend? I need something good to wear."

"Wait wait wait. Santana Marie Lopez wants to have a special outfit to go to dinner. With a man. To discuss their relationship?" Brittany stares at her friend confused.

"Not a special outfit. The _perfect_ outfit."

"Are you saying what I _think_ you're saying?" Rachel stares at her, willing her mind to just shut up so she can hear it from Santana's mouth.

"Finn could be it for me you guys. He just gets me. If this dinner is going where I think it is, then I just want it to be perfect." Santana squeezes her cup so hard that it collapses within itself and coffee spills everywhere.

Brittany and Rachel jump up, grabbing their purses. "So what do you think she should wear? A dress or like a really nice pair of skinny jeans?"

Rachel purses her lips. "She might look amazing in a skirt if we can find the right one. Where do you think he'll be taking her? That might make the decision for us."

"I'm thinking boots. Oh, what about those black ones you have? She looks amazing in ankle ones and black knee socks."

They start to walk away towards the stores and Santana sits there with her jaw dropped. They just left her. "GUYS!" Both of them spin around and grin at her.

"Are you coming?" Brittany has her arm linked with Rachel's and they both smile innocently.

She laughs and follows after her friends, getting between them both and linking her arms with theirs. "I love you guys."

"We love you too." Rachel and Brittany kiss her cheek.

* * *

><p>His eyes open slowly and he pulls back instantly, seeing the green eyes of Brittany's cat staring at him. "Jesus." He rolls onto his back and notices that Rachel isn't in the bed. Puck gets up and gets dressed but when he gets to the door, the cat is just staring at him all sadly. He vaguely remembers that Brittany carries it around like a damn baby.<p>

"Fuck me." He picks up the cat and cradles it in his arms, walking into the living room. "Well Tubbington, where's Sarah and Connor? Did he manage to kill her and make her body disappear?" The cat stares up at him and yawns. "You questioning me? It could totally happen." He looks down at the cat then walks towards Brittany's room. When he opens the door, he sees that Sarah is sleeping on top of Brittany's quilt. "Okay, so if she's alive, did she go bat shit crazy and kill Connor?" The cat meows. "That answer worries me Tub." He goes down the hall to Santana's room and opens the door. "You couldn't have just told me they were both alive?" He glares at the cat. Lord Tubbington hisses at him, but manages to get more comfortable in his arms.

"Why the fuck are you talking to a cat?"

Puck looks up at Connor and rolls his eyes. "Lord Tubbington here, Brittany's cat, loves to be carried like a baby. As to why I'm talking to it…" He pauses and sets the cat down on the bed. "Anyways. So you and Sarah didn't kill each other." Puck says shockingly.

"It was just a misunderstanding. She just needs someone who can push her to be better." He shrugs.

"Whatever. She doesn't need to fuck up this job with Finn."

Connor sits up and pets the cat that moves into his lap. He assumes he's just like Brittany, that he's just welcoming him in his own weird way. "Do you resent her?"

"The fuck?" Puck grabs the chair at Santana's desk chair and rolls it over by the bed. "Why would I resent my own sister?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you didn't get to fuck around like her."

"Oh I did plenty of fucking around, if you get my drift." He winks.

"Nice, but no." Connor laughs.

"That was the way I was carefree. I still got to have fun, but I took care of my family too. Sarah just needs to find her own way like I did. But I guess it's a good thing you were there to set her straight. I probably would've kept giving her whatever she wanted, same with everyone else most likely."

"That doesn't make you a bad brother Puck."

"Anyways. Enough of this. Where's Rach?" He pets Lord Tubbington when he moves over to Puck's lap. "Cat is crazy." It looks up at him with sad eyes. "Fuck, I take it back."

Connor laughs and moves to put his shirt back on. "She had to meet Santana and Brittany at the mall for something. She didn't really explain. Oh, but she's bringing back food." He shrugs.

"Weird. Let's go drink some of that beer in the fridge and watch TV till she gets back." Puck picks up the cat and they move into the living room.

* * *

><p>Rachel stands in Finn's bathroom, wrapping a piece of Santana's silky hair around the curling iron while Brittany hums and does the makeup on their friend.<p>

"What are you guys doing in there? Should I be worried?" Finn asks on the other side of the door.

"Holy shit Finn, go sit down on the couch. She'll be ready soon for dinner." Brittany huffs and goes back to applying the shimmery eyeshadow on Santana's eyelids.

"But it's been a _long_ time since you guys disappeared in there."

Rachel moves towards the door and opens it slightly. "FINN HUDSON! Go sit down, now!" She points down the hall and Finn stares at her before running down the hall. "Jesus." She mutters and goes back to Santana's hair.

"Oh my God Rach." She tries to hold it together and stop laughing.

"Stop it San! I just applied your mascara and you're going to make it run if you don't stop laughing." But Brittany leans against the counter and laughs. "You're going to be the craziest Jew momma."

"I'm not crazy!" Rachel pouts and goes back to finishing the last few strands before sitting on the edge of the tub and glaring at her friends.

"We know you're not Berry pie. You and Puck will be great parents."

"Who said anything about me and Puck having kids? It's way too soon to tell any of that."

"Rachel…" Brittany finishes the makeup and they both turn to look at their smaller friend. "You said you were in love with Matt, but we haven't seen you look at anyone the way you look at Puck. You're falling for him."

"Am not!" She spits out defensively.

Santana stares at Rachel like she's crazy. "Whatever you wanna tell yourself. If I can see it, then I know you can." She stands up and looks in the mirror. They picked out a cream colored sweater dress that hangs off one shoulder and has sleeves that go down to her forearms. Her hair is curly and her makeup is natural looking. Cute black heels that Brittany found that were miraculously in her size. "You guys are amazing."

"You look so beautiful San." Brittany smiles and wipes away a tear.

"Why are you crying?" She wipes Brittany's cheek then looks over to Rachel that's also swiping at her cheek.

"You're all grown up." She giggles and moves to the door. "Have fun on your date. Don't come out till you hear the front door close."

They both blow kisses to their friend then walk down the hall. Finn stands up but frowns when he doesn't see Santana following them. "Where is she?"

"She'll be out in a minute. Hurt her, and we'll hurt you." Brittany looks at Finn with narrowed eyes.

"Um. I won't." He looks nervous and it makes Rachel smile. "She won't hurt me though, right?"

"I don't think so." Rachel smiles genuinely. "Well we better go. Everyone at the condo must be getting really hungry. Let's call Mike and head over there. Have fun tonight!"

As soon as they're out the door, they stand on the other side to hear Santana walk into the living room.

Finn looks over and looks her up and down. "Holy shit."

Santana bites her lip and looks up at him. "Do I look okay?"

He's never seen her look so nervous before. Finn walks over and wraps his arms around her waist. "You look so beautiful. Fucking gorgeous really." He leans down and kisses her softly on the lips.

She pulls back and looks down at his dark jeans, light blue collared shirt under a black sweater with the sleeves rolled up. He's so adorable and sexy at the same time. "You look handsome."

Brittany and Rachel squeal lightly on the other side before running down the hallway so they can get food as their reward. She dials Mike and tells him to get over to the condo while Rachel texts Puck that they're on their way with Chinese.

* * *

><p>Mike walks into the condo, still sweating from his dance rehearsals that he's doing in order to prepare for Dancing with the Stars. Touching up on ballroom dancing wasn't exactly fun, but Brittany was helping him out when she could. Everyone is sitting around the coffee table, eating out of cartons of Chinese with beers.<p>

"Mike!" Brittany jumps up and runs over to kiss him.

"Hey babe. Did you guys save me some food?"

"Of course we did Mike! Though Connor and Noah look really hungry still, so you better come get it while you can." Rachel smiles over at him and leans against Puck, kissing his cheek.

"Baby, you know we eat a lot. I don't know why you didn't get more. We're going to have to order a pizza or something."

"Dude, can we? I'm fucking starving." Mike sits down in his chair while Brittany loads up a plate for him then leans back against his legs.

"Are dance rehearsals not going well?" Sarah looks over at him concerned.

"It's fine, I'm just having to brush up on some techniques for the ballroom dances. I'm using muscles I haven't necessarily used in awhile. And I'm getting used to my ballroom shoes again."

"My poor baby." Brittany cooes and rubs his calves.

"It'll be worth it dude." Puck mumbles around his fork.

"Yeah, yeah. Where's Finn and San?"

"Mikie! They're out on a date. Talking about feelings." She winks at him.

Later that night as they're all sitting around and playing a board game, Rachel leans against Puck, starting to fall asleep. It's been hours since she and Brittany left so that they could go on their date. Sarah's head is on the table, fast asleep while Connor stares at the board while waiting for Puck to roll the dice.

"Where are they?" Mike mumbles, shaking his head to try and stay awake.

"Fuck if I know." He leans against the couch and throws the dice.

Connor lets out a snore. Mike looks over and sees that he's leaning against the wall with his head down and his arms crossed over his chest. "How can he sleep like that?"

"Dude, you should've seen how they could fall asleep when I was training with them. That looks comfortable compared to some other positions I've seen."

Just then, the front door slams shut and everyone jumps. "Hey guys." Finn walks in smiling, holding Santana's hand.

The girl in question is blushing. "We have something we'd like to share with you."

"Are you pregnant?" Brittany looks up with her eyes sparkling.

"No…" Santana stares at the blonde with her eyebrows pinched together. She shakes her head and smiles.

"He didn't propose did he?" Mike looks over to Puck. "I totally get best man."

"What?" Puck stares at the Asian with wide eyes.

"Definitely did not propose guys." Finn pulls Santana in front of him and wraps his arms around her waist. "I did ask her to officially be my girlfriend though."

Rachel, Brittany and Sarah jump up and scream loudly, running over to Santana. All the girls are hugging each other while Finn moves over to the loveseat. "Holy shit they're loud."

Mike covers his ears and winces as the screaming continues. He's half yelling over them. "What took you guys so long?"

"Had to make it official?" Puck winks at Finn.

"Basically. Her decision." Finn blushes.

"Yeah, I'm sure she really had to force you to have sex." Connor laughs but holds out his fist. "Good job man. You two make a good pair."

Finn gives his lopsided smile. "Thanks man, that means a lot. You two cool with it?" He looks over to Puck and Mike.

"We've been waiting for this for awhile." Mike laughs. "Anyways, I need to get back to my place. I have a really early morning. Congrats on the relationship."

"Actually we do too." Puck motions between himself and Finn then stands up and pulls Rachel over into his arms. "You girls can talk about how he asked and shit. I'm gonna head home to sleep. I have to be on set in a few hours."

"I'm so sorry Noah. I didn't know." She frowns and looks up at him. "I wouldn't have made you wait for them to come over if I did."

"It's okay baby. We all wanted to be here for this." He pecks her lips. "Connor, you can come stay at my place. Britts and Sarah don't mind sharing a bed whenever she crashes here."

Finn and Mike say goodbye to their ladies while Connor hugs Sarah goodbye. Puck kisses Rachel deeply then all the guys are out the front door. Rachel locks the door and turns around to a smiling Santana. "Spill!"

* * *

><p><em>So Connor is here! Do you guys think he should be around more or what? And the idea of someone setting Sarah straight came from <em>tomfeltonlover1991. _I kind of imagine Connor looking like Ryan Kwanten. I'm going to be starting school again next week, so the chapters will be a little less frequent. I have the next 2 chapters planned out, so be prepared for some fun stuff in them. _

_Also, should Sarah stick around? I think she'll be easier to write after the whole confrontation thing. Thanks again so much for the reviews. You guys are __**awesome**__!_

_Edit: Oh! And LA Temptation actually did a charity game. And the local fire department came, saying they had been to all the games. I forgot where I read the article, but it gave me the idea :) And another thing I wanted your guys opinions on: Should Connor & Sarah date? Kind of like how Puck and Rachel balance each other out, could it work with the other Puckerman? Let me know!  
><em>


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry for the delay! I hit a little road block and things with school managed to get hectic. Anywho…96 reviews! Holy crap. Whoever is #100, we can try to work something out. Like maybe something you'd like to be seen in this story or something. Seriously, you guys are__** fuhreakin**__ awesome. : ) thank you sooo so so so much._

_Don't own Glee or LA Temptation, or anything that could get me sued._

* * *

><p>By the time Rachel, Brittany and Sarah changed into their pajamas, they race out to the living room, bumping into each other a bit, only to find Santana curled up in a ball on the loveseat, sleeping with a smile on her face.<p>

"Aw shit, we're too late." Sarah pouts and walks back towards Brittany's room.

"Nope. She won't get out of this easily." Rachel sets her hands on her hips with a determined look on her face. "Tomorrow is a girl's day. I know it's the day before Connor leaves, but I have to go shopping for a dress anyways. The guys can do whatever they want since Noah isn't needed on set later in the afternoon." Rachel smiles triumphantly while leaving a note on Santana's phone, covers her with a blanket and turns towards her room.

"Sounds like a plan!" Brittany jumps excitedly and picks up Lord Tubbington. "C'mon Tubby, it's time for bed. We have a big day tomorrow." She kisses his nose and walks into her room where Sarah is already peacefully sleeping.

They all wake up around 12, taking turns on taking showers and Sarah borrows some of Rachel's clothes since they're the same size in pretty much everything. By two they're walking around the mall, sipping smoothies until they find a store to go in.

"What do you want to wear to the premiere?" Brittany chews on her straw and looks over at Rachel.

She thinks about it for a minute before scrunching her eyebrows together and pursing her lips. "What do you wear to one?"

"I'd be safe and go with a dress." Santana tilts her head at something and pulls the hanger out, only to scrunch up her nose and put it back on the rack. "Shit, that's awful."

"We should've called Kurt to help." Sarah looks at a few dresses then puts them back.

"Girls day!" Brittany gasps, looking shockingly at Sarah.

"He's gay, so it could've worked." Sarah laughs then shrugs and holds up a dress to Rachel. She nods and grabs the hanger.

"Should we split up and grab different ones for me to try on?" Rachel looks at everyone.

"Nope. You wanted this to be a girls day, so we're sticking together." Santana looks around and pulls out a dress. "Puck would probably go crazy if you wore this." She holds up a dress that looks like one of Puck's dress shirts, just with a belt around it.

"We could do that ourselves if she wanted to do that, but try it on." Brittany grabs it and throws it at Rachel.

"All these dresses seem wrong." Rachel holds a few up and sighs. Sarah holds up a dress and she shakes her head no as her phone rings. "Hi Noah."

"_Hey baby. What are you up to?"_

"Dress shopping with the girls. San, put that dress back right now or I'll leave you." Santana scowls and walks away to a different rack.

Puck laughs and she can hear the beep from him unlocking his car, then the dinging from inserting the key into the ignition. _"Whatcha need a dress for?"_

"The premiere this week, remember?" Rachel reaches out for a dress Brittany picked up.

"_Shit, right. I need to call Kurt. Wanna see a movie tonight?"_

"Actually, we decided to have a girls night. You guys can have a night to do whatever you want, so I'll talk to you later. Bye baby." She taps the screen before he can reply and walks over to a dress that she spots. "Guys?"

"Add it to the pile." Brittany smiles brightly. "Maybe we should look at skirts and tops too." She turns towards the tops that caught her attention just moments earlier.

Rachel pulls out her phone again, feeling bad that she just hung up on him so abruptly and types in a text to Puck saying 'be careful driving xo.' "Alright ladies. Dressing room." As they walk, Santana grabs a few skirts and tops that she thinks will look good on Rachel's body.

After a few hours they find a few outfits that Rachel can pick from at home and just in case she goes to any other premieres with Puck. Santana starts the car and looks at all of them. "I say we go find somewhere to eat and drink. It wouldn't be a proper girls night without some martinis. Or margaritas."

"Mexican food." They all say in unison and laugh.

Santana pulls up to a restaurant that also has a little dance floor. Luckily tonight was one of the nights where it wasn't a mariachi band playing, but an actual DJ. Santana had decided in the car to take Sarah under her wing, teaching her everything she would need to know about being single in LA. The best places to drink, the best places to eat, the best bars and clubs to meet cute guys. The whole nine yards. Rachel watches as they dance on the floor while men stand and stare slightly, ignoring the looks that their dates are giving them. She sips her margarita when Brittany nudges her arm.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course!" Rachel sits up and smiles encouragingly, giving Brittany her full attention.

"I wanted to tell you first. I mean, I'll tell San eventually…" She trails off and plays with her straw worriedly.

"Are you okay? You can tell me anything." She puts her hand gently on her hands, causing the blonde to quit stirring her straw around.

"I think I'm in love with Mike."

Rachel squeals and hugs Brittany. "That's amazing!" She pulls back then looks at her friend with a confused look. "Why did you look so scared?"

"It's been three months. Isn't that way too soon?"

She scoffs and waves her hand dismissively while she sips her drink. "Did you know my dads knew they wanted to be together after a month and a half after meeting on Ohio State's campus?" Brittany raises her eyebrows. "Yes they actually told me this. Sure it wasn't easy all the time, from what they told me when all that crap with Matt was going on, but that's what makes it even better. Because you move on and learn about each other. Obviously not for me though." Rachel laughs bitterly.

"I didn't know that." Brittany smiles.

"If Mike is what you want, trust your heart."

Brittany tears up. "You're the best. I was worried you and Santana would think I'm crazy."

"We would never do that. Well…San maybe. But now that she's with Finn, it might be different." Rachel shrugs.

"They're so sweet together. So are you and Puck." She pauses and looks down to her drink. "You know, even though you two haven't been together that long, I can see how happy you are. And even though you two haven't fought or anything, you're in a much better place now than you ever were with Matt."

Rachel blushes and plays with her straw. "He's so much more different than Matt. He's not obsessive with getting further in his career. People want him because he's an amazing actor. And Puck cares about his family and friends so much." She sighs dreamily.

"Puckleberry is awesome." Brittany giggles. "Let's go get Santana and Sarah! She still needs to tell us how Finn asked her out." Brittany disappears onto the dance floor, returning with Santana and Sarah sitting at the table and sipping margaritas before they order their food.

"Okay, spill!" Sarah leans forward and smiles.

Santana smiles and looks at the three girls in front of her. "Well we went to dinner, some nice place that he and Puck had been to before for some sort of meeting. During dinner, we didn't talk about feelings at all. Just about how everything at work was going for him and I was telling him about the conference game coming up. He ordered dessert while I was in the bathroom, but he only ordered one so that we had to share."

"You shared dessert?" Brittany stares at her in shock.

"I know! I'm greedy about that shit. Anyways. He was really sweet, acting all nervous."

"That's normal." Sarah laughs and sips her margarita. "Half the time when he's nervous, he looks like a gassy baby."

"Gross. Okay more nervous than normal." Santana laughs and looks over at Rachel. "He put his hand on mine and told me that he wasn't seeing anyone else or sleeping with anyone. And he couldn't think about doing that because he only wanted to be with me. I know it hasn't been too long since he dumped Quinn, but everything just felt right. He asked me if I'd like to be his girlfriend. And I said yes." She blushes and bites her lip. "God that's so fucking sappy."

"That's so sweet. And so Finn." Sarah smiles at her friends and bites into a chip. "He wasn't like that with Quinn, ya know, when he asked her out. He really cares about you."

"That really is adorable." Rachel bites her lip and smiles at her friend while Brittany nods.

"After we got done with dessert, I dragged him back to his apartment so we could consummate the relationship. It had been far too long."

"Santana! You just had to ruin it." Rachel throws a chip at her friend and finishes her margarita. "We need more of these!" She looks around for their waiter.

* * *

><p>Connor deals out the cards on the makeshift poker table that is sitting where Puck's coffee table used to be. Finn stares at the flying cards. "Where'd you learn to deal so fast?"<p>

"We play a lot of poker on deployments. Half the time we play if nothing is going on or if we get a shitload of candy in a care package and use that as money." He picks up his cards and looks at them.

"Can we use candy instead of poker chips?"

"Finn…we don't have any candy." Mike looks at him oddly and picks up his cards, shaking his head at his friend.

"When do you guys deploy? I could try to get you on the set one time before you go." Puck throws a few chips into the middle of the table.

"As of right now, pre-deployment leave is next month and we ship out in December." Connor frowns and throws a few chips onto the pile too.

Mike sighs. "Don't think any of us are going home for Thanksgiving so you should drive down if you get off. Britt, Rach and San probably go all out for that."

"Yeah sure. Shit I'm out." He throws down his cards and grabs his beer.

After starting another round when Finn wins, Puck leans back while everyone contemplates their move. "So Quinn flipped out on set the other day." Mike folds and leans back in his chair too, looking over at Puck.

"What'd she do?"

"Someone got her coffee order wrong." Puck scoffs.

"Her coffee order isn't hard though." Finn scratches his temple, staring at his cards then throws down a few chips.

"That worries me." Connor stares at Finn. "Coffee shouldn't be difficult. I'm happy if we get cream or sugar with our shit. Well…when we deploy anyways." He shrugs.

"But a vanilla latte isn't hard to remember."

"That's not what she ordered." Puck looks over to Finn and his friend tilts his head. "Granted that's what she claimed she ordered, but I was standing right next to her. The assistant looked at me for help and when I told Quinn that's not what she ordered, she stormed off to her trailer until she got what she asked for. The producer was pissed as shit."

"Does this chick always act like this on set?" Connor walks back over from the kitchen and sets four beers down on the table.

"Not really. Well not at first." Finn sighs. "You win Puck." Finn settles into his chair. "I think as her career got bigger, the more dramatic she turned out to be on set."

"Wait, so do you get all pissy when you don't get what you want on set?" Connor turns to Puck.

"Please. He rarely asks for anything. Puck only asks for coffee if it's late at night or he has a headache, other than that he just drinks water." Mike raises his beer and smirks at his friend.

After a few more games that Connor ends up winning, Mike suggests that they should switch to Call of Duty.

* * *

><p>Rachel pulls Brittany into the tattoo parlor while Sarah keeps mumbling 'this is a bad idea.' The girls try to control their drunk giggling so that they don't get thrown out and they're doing a pretty damn good job of it.<p>

"Ease up Puckerman. It's not like we're all getting something. Just Rachel." Santana pushes the girl through the door where Rachel is talking to a blonde tattooed woman behind the counter.

"I think I wanna get one too." Brittany glances down at a book filled with pictures of tattoos that have been done before and starts to flip through the pages.

"Britts, what would you even get?" Santana raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow at her friend.

She glances over her shoulder at Santana then down at the book. "A pale pink outline of a heart on my left wrist right over my pulse point."

"That sounds really cute." Sarah moves around so she can look at the book too while Rachel pulls out her phone and describes what she wants to the girl.

"I'd get a bow on the back of my neck." Brittany stares at the Latina. "What? It's cute."

Her eyes widen instantly. "Get it now! It's the perfect time and I'll get mine. Sarah, you can get one too. I'll pay." She smiles widely.

"You know you're not supposed to be under the influence right?" She looks at them both cautiously.

"We know how to act sober. C'mon Sarah, don't be a party pooper." Santana folds her arms over her chest and leans against the counter.

"I've wanted to get my tragus pierced for awhile…I could get that instead." Sarah bites her lip and looks between Santana and Brittany.

"Perfect!" Brittany flounces over to Rachel to describe to the girl what they want to get.

"This is crazy." Sarah whispers to Santana while they follow Rachel to the booth where she'll get her tattoo first.

"It's fine. Loosen up." They all find chairs to sit in while Rachel strips down to her tank top and pulls it up to under her bra. "What're you getting Rach?"

"My number 20 on my back right hip. If I somehow win Idol, I won't get to play anymore. I just want to keep it with me to remember all the fun times I had. Even if I do play next season."

"You will Rachel. You're an amazing singer." Brittany smiles and holds her hand when the blonde starts the tattoo.

"Wait, what do you play?" The blonde dips the gun into some ink while she waits for a response.

"We play for the Lingerie Football League."

"That's badass." She laughs and continues to work on Rachel's lower back.

After a few minutes of the girls staring at Rachel's back, Sarah clears her throat. All the girls turn to her, well except the artist. "Can I talk to you guys about something?" Sarah asks quietly.

"Of course you can." Rachel smiles warmly then winces a bit.

"I like working as Finn's assistant, so I'm thinking of maybe trying to go to college in the spring. Maybe a business degree with a minor in film studies. UCLA possibly."

"Sarah, that's great. Noah will support you. We all will." She smiles while Santana and Brittany nod.

"Really?" She scrunches her eyebrows together, wondering how she got so lucky to know such great girls. She'd have to find a way to tell her brother this without him being a smug asshole about it.

"Between Finn and Puck, you'll probably have a 4.0 by the time you graduate." Santana shrugs and looks over at Rachel's back. "Will it hurt on my neck?" She looks up at the blonde who is wiping down Rachel's finished tattoo.

"It won't be too bad."

After the tattoos have been done and Sarah got her ear pierced, the girls push into Puck's apartment, giggling as the alcohol slowly works its way back to the surface. It probably didn't help that they stopped at a bar for a quick beer too.

"I gotta clean my ear." Sarah giggles and stumbles her way to the bathroom with cleaner in her hands. Brittany and Santana make their way over to the couch, laughing and kissing their men.

"How did you guys get home?" Connor looks between all of them. "Are one of you even sober enough to even drive?" He looks over to Rachel who just bent over to put her purse down.

"Um, I don't think we drove. Did we?" Brittany looks over to Santana.

"We took a cab Britts." She laughs and cuddles into Finn, kissing her way up his jaw. Santana was a passionate drunk much like Rachel was.

Puck looks over while Rachel starts to unzip her boots and notices a bandage on her lower back right above where her jeans start. He passes his controller to Brittany, knowing she doesn't completely suck at the game but way better than Santana, then makes his way over to his girlfriend. He puts his left hand on her hip and rubs his thumb over the red skin on her right hip.

"Rach? Did you get hurt?" His eyebrows furrow at the bandage.

"Huh?" She looks over her shoulder then back down to her boot that she's currently slipping off.

Puck pulls off the bandage and sees the newly tattooed '20' staring back at him. His breathing becomes labored, seeing his number on her perfectly tanned skin. He knows it's her number too but that's beside the point. "Get out. Everyone out! Now." He growls as he stares down while Rachel starts to pull off her other boot.

Connor looks over at Puck's dark eyes. "Uh, Finn can I stay at your place?"

Finn nods while they pause the game and scramble out of the apartment quickly. Puck wraps his arms around Rachel's waist and walks her towards his room. "Noah, what's wrong with you?" She giggles when he closes the door and locks it.

"That tattoo is so damn sexy." He pushes her hair aside and kisses up her neck.

Rachel turns in his arms and pushes at his chest. "Oh! I'm supposed to clean it."

"Just wait until after baby." He moves to kiss her pulse point on her neck, but she pushes at him again.

"No! I have to do it now. Then you will have all night to show me how much you like it."

"Please?" Puck pouts and she has to say it's incredibly adorable. She'd never tell him though.

Rachel puts her hand on his cheek. "Just a few minutes baby." She walks towards the bathroom and he follows her.

"I'll help. I have the ointment from when I got mine." He pulls out a washcloth and runs some warm water while Rachel leans over on the counter, reading the back of the bottle. Puck rubs some antibacterial soap onto it and rests his hand on her ass while the other gently washes the new ink on her body. He notices it's in the same print like her uniform. _Hot_.

Him washing her tattoo so gently and lovingly shouldn't turn her on so much but it does. Rachel closes her eyes, loving how he moves his hand to rest on her ship and squeezes slightly. She concentrates so hard on his left hand that she doesn't notice he's already applied the ointment and he's moving her tank top up. This finally registers when he presses his lips to her spine. Rachel shivers and moans.

"Bedroom." She rasps out.

"Yes ma'am." Puck pushes her towards his room, locking it again. She moves to lay down, but he pulls her towards his chest. "You can't rub off the medicine. So it's either from behind or on top of me." He kisses down her neck and pulls off her tank top.

"Puck, just pick already." Rachel whines and pulls at his shirt, managing to get it up to his shoulders before she starts to kiss and nip at his chest.

He makes quick work of stripping off their clothes and he turns her around, forcing Rachel to bend over the side of the bed. Puck enters her quickly, loving the way her hand reaches out and grips the quilt in her hand. She grinds against him and whines, but he just can't take his eyes off the black ink that stands out on her skin.

Looking over her shoulder, she sees where his eyes are lingering on her back. Squeezing her muscles around his cock, he finally looks up at her and smirks. Rachel sighs when he pulls out slowly then rams back into her.

"Oh God." She moves her head and uses the bed to muffle her cries.

"Shit Rach." He pumps into her harder when she starts to thrust back, meeting him every time. Puck can see she's biting the blanket and he wishes that could be his shoulder where she usually bites when they're fucking. Her walls are fluttering around him, so he reaches down and brushes her clit which automatically sends her over the edge, pulling him with her.

Rachel collapses onto the bed, feeling like that was over faster than she imagined but in reality it wasn't. Puck lays down next to her, dropping his forearm onto his sweaty forehead and takes deep, long breathes. She reaches across and grips his bicep. He looks over at her and smiles. She looks thoroughly fucked, but it could be all the alcohol she consumed. Then again, that's bullshit because he's gotten her that flushed looking before.

"Why are you so far away?" She pouts. He rolls over to her and grabs her side, pulling her to him.

Rolling onto his back, Rachel moves on top of him and starts to kiss his body, starting at his very own tattoo until she moves over to his lips. His hardening length is pressing against her thigh while he threads his hands into her hair. Puck fully intends on showing her the rest of the night how much he likes her and her tattoo.

* * *

><p>Sunday morning Rachel wakes up in Puck's bed, her head slightly dizzy from the night before but when she gets up to walk, she instantly knows that she's still slightly drunk. Her muscles legitimately ache as she walks, proof of how much Puck loved what she had done to her body last night. Once she gets to the kitchen, she grabs a coffee cup to pour some, but she tips the pot over and none comes out. "What the hell?" She sighs and looks around for the coffee.<p>

Puck walks in and leans against the door frame while she opens up cabinet after cabinet in search of coffee. He laughs quietly and goes to the cabinet where the coffee is and gets it ready. "Don't have to work today, so that's why there's no coffee. Sorry babe." He kisses her temple.

"It's fine. I think I'm still drunk." She giggles and hops up onto the counter, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulls him closer while he gets the grounds into the filter. "I love waking up with you." Rachel starts to pepper kisses along his shoulder.

"Mhm." He tilts his head and kisses Rachel heatedly, pulling her close to his body. Once the coffee is brewing he wraps both arms around her and thrusts his tongue into her mouth.

She moves her hands over his bare chest and wraps her arms around his neck. His hands move up the Ohio State shirt that she has on that she stole from his dresser, rubbing his thumbs over her ribs right underneath her breasts. Rachel gasps when one of his hands palm her right breast, his thumb brushing over her left nipple. She's never noticed that his fingers were calloused until right now. That thought made her shudder, thinking of the guitar in the living room that he can play. It turns her on even more.

"Noah." She whines.

His hand slips down, pushing aside her underwear and teases her folds. Rachel starts to grind against his hand when there's a key turning in the lock of the front door and Rebecca Puckerman calls out through the door. "Noah, Sarah! I'm here."

Rachel gasps and shoves Puck away from her as hard as she can. Puck stumbles back and hits his head on the cabinet. "Holy fuck Ray!" He rubs his head. Clearly he didn't hear his own mother come through the door because he was too distracted.

She jumps down and moves in front of him, cupping his face and rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "Baby are you okay?"

"What the fuck was that for?" He eyes her suspiciously then hears someone clearing their throat. He looks to his right slowly and sees his mom. "Oh shit. _Shit!"_

Rachel spins around, pulling the shirt down and tries to calm her breathing. "Noah Eli Puckerman! Watch your mouth." His mother walks into the kitchen and looks at her son carefully. "Why don't you put on some clothes dear."

"Um, yes, right." Rachel runs out of the kitchen, out the door and over to Finn's apartment. "SANTANA!" She bangs on the door.

Finn opens up the door and rubs his eyes. "Rachel?"

She pulls him by the boxers and shoves him towards Mike's apartment. "Send Brittany over right now and stay with Mike."

Inside Puck's apartment, Rebecca sighs. "I meant you, not her."

Sarah walks into the living room. "What the hell is going on in here? I already slept like shit during the night since you and Rach-" She looks up and sees her mother. "Oh shit."

"Sarah Elizabeth Puckerman! What is wrong with you two today? Did you forget that I was on my way here?" They both look at each other and open their mouths to talk, but shut them just as fast. "You did forget." She sighs and looks out the door where her son's perfect Jewish girlfriend ran out.

"You could've called you know." Sarah crosses her arms and stares at their mom.

Rachel sits on the floor of the living room when Brittany walks through the door, turning and locking it then sitting on the floor as well. Her head is throbbing, but she looks around for Santana. Brittany yawns and lays down on the floor, putting her head against the cool hardwood floor then starts to giggle.

"Are you still drunk too?" Brittany nods. "I thought Noah would've fucked me sober, but it just made my head more dizzy."

Brittany laughs and falls over. "I'm pretty sure we all thought our men would do that."

Santana walks to the freezer and grabs a pint of ice cream, then opens the drawer to retrieve three spoons. Walking into the living room, she sits on the cool floor and hands them each a spoon."So what happened that made you barge in here at 9 in the fucking morning on a Sunday?" Santana adjusts her shirt and dips her spoon into the ice cream again.

"Noah's mom walked in this morning." She bites her lip and looks down.

"Okay?" They both say slowly. "She's pretty cool so why are you freaking out about it?" Brittany looks over and holds her spoon in front of her while she waits for an answer.

"He had his fingers in me on the kitchen counter when she walked in. And he was only in his boxers and I was in this." She motions down her body with her spoon, almost immediately taking more ice cream, her face turning bright red from embarrassment. Her friends start to laugh but cringe shortly after and hold their hands to their heads. She looks at them and notices they're all wearing Ohio State shirts. "Oh my God. We're all taken at the same time."

Santana pinches her eyebrows together. "You're just now noticing?" She snorts and dips her spoon.

"Well the reason I'm bringing it up is because we're all wearing their alumni shirts."

Brittany and Santana look down at their shirts and then over at her. "Wow." They say together.

Rachel licks her spoon and giggles. She moves so that she's laying on her stomach and fills up her spoon again. "What did they think of your tattoos?"

"Finn hasn't really noticed mine yet. It is on the back of my neck. He'll see it soon enough."

"Mike loves it. The sex was pretty great." She giggles again.

Someone knocks at the door. "San, baby? Can you please hand me some clothes so that I don't have to see mama P in my boxers?"

Santana sighs and runs to the bedroom and grabs him some gym shorts a t shirt, throwing them through the crack in the door then locks it again. "Let's watch a movie. There's more ice cream in the freezer. We haven't had a hangover day in awhile." The two girls nod and move to sit against the couch.

Puck grabs a shirt and shorts from his gym bag by the door and grabs some Lysol from underneath the sink to disinfect where Rachel was just sitting. It's bad enough that his mom almost caught him getting it on in his kitchen. Sarah is arguing with their mom about how to use the smart phone that Puck bought her and why she drove throughout the night just so she could get to LA that morning. He pulls on his clothes right when Finn, Mike and Connor walk into the apartment.

"Mama Puckerman!" Finn and Mike move to hug her and she waves her hand Sarah.

"Boys!" She hugs them both tightly and kisses their cheeks. "Don't all of you just look handsome. And who is this?"

"Connor Hawthorne ma'am." He shakes her hand and smiles.

"Oh yes, you were the one he met during his training. It's wonderful to meet you. And thank you what you're doing for our country." She smiles at him and walks into the kitchen. "How about I make all of you breakfast." She opens up the fridge and grabs random ingredients, pleasantly surprised that her son actually has food.

"Yeah, sounds great ma." Puck moves out the door to go to Finn's apartment while everyone starts to chat about her road trip. "Rach, baby let me in."

The door opens and he finds Brittany and Rachel cuddling together on the couch asleep while Santana leans against the frame leading to the kitchen. "We used to do this whenever we drank too much. Sit around in our pajamas, eat ice cream and watch a movie." Santana laughs. "Last time we did it was when Matt and Rachel broke up."

"I see." He scratches the side of his head awkwardly, not really knowing what happened with this Matt douche. "Well you guys gotta get ready. My ma is cooking breakfast." He laughs when Santana's eyes widen and she runs towards Finn's room. Puck walks over and gently wakes up Brittany, telling her to go get ready too. "Ray." He pushes his girlfriend until she wakes up.

Yawning, she mumbles out, "Did she see?"

Puck laughs and pulls her onto his lap. "She didn't see a thing baby. And she wanted me to get dressed, not you.

"It would've been nice for her to clarify that." Rachel snuggles into Puck's embrace and breathes in his smell. Soap, some cologne lingering from his dress shirt and deodorant. It was a strange mix that was all him and she loved it.

"She's making breakfast, probably freaking out that you ran out. I think she's in love with you." That makes her giggle. "Come on, we should get you dressed since everyone is over there now. Plus Connor is leaving after breakfast."

"I forgot he has to go today." She jumps up, no longer drunk, and smiles. Holding her hand out, Puck reaches for it and pushes her into the hallway to his place.

After they eat around the coffee table, Puck's mom goes to Sarah's room for a nap while they prepare their temporary goodbyes with Connor. Santana and Brittany escaped the kitchen to do the dishes and drink more coffee while Sarah talks with him in Puck's room.

"You know you can call me if you need anything right?" He looks at Puck's little sister while he stuffs clothes into his duffel bag.

"Do you even know how to pack?" Sarah laughs and pulls the clothes out, folding them gently and placing them back in. "But yes, I do now."

Connor pulls out his phone and shoves it at her while he zips up the bag. She enters in her number and tosses it on the bed next to his things. "We're going to miss having you around here." Actually, she knows that she'll miss him the most. It was nice not being treated like a fourteen year old girl and he helped her see everything in a different light.

"Hey, don't pout. I'll be back in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. Hopefully for the conference game too, so it's not like it'll be too long." He knows what she was saying with her eyes, that she would miss him the most out of everyone. He laughs and pulls her into a hug. "I'll miss your crazy ass too."

"Don't be surprised if I text you about how my ma is driving me crazy. We'll probably all be insane in a matter of days." Sarah looks up at him and smiles.

"In that case, everyone might be texting me. I'll try to respond when I can though. When I get back to Pendleton, I gotta pack for our mountain training that we're leaving for tomorrow." He's amazed by how much she's calmed down after their talk a few days earlier. It suits her much better than acting like a brat.

"Okay." She says quietly and hugs him tight.

Connor squeezes her and drops a kiss to her forehead. "You'll be alright kid."

"I'm not a kid." She rolls her eyes and moves out of the room.

He laughs and follows her out. "Alright everyone, I'm out."

Puck, Finn and Mike shake his hand, giving him a half hug then he moves through the girls and gives them hugs and kisses on their cheeks.

"Let us know when you get back." Rachel looks at him until he grins at her and nods.

"Yes mom." Rachel rolls her eyes and wraps her arms around Puck's waist.

Once the door shuts, everyone piles into the living room and puts on a movie, deciding today would be a great lazy day until a certain mom woke up.

* * *

><p>"This color blue looks fabulous on you." Kurt admires his choice in Puck's clothing.<p>

"Thanks man. I kinda forgot about the premiere tonight. I've been so busy and distracted since Holly told me about it the other week so I appreciate you finding something at the last minute." Puck looks at his clothes in the bathroom mirror before walking out to the living room to gather up his things.

"Not a problem. You're easy to dress anyways. I have to get going and I'll see pictures online anyways. Ta ta." Kurt waves his hand while he moves out the front door.

Puck stares at the door then shakes his head, putting his wallet into his back pocket. Kurt may be Finn's step brother, but he seriously worried about the guy sometimes. But the man is right, it's easy to dress himself. He is a stud.

"Hey ma, Sarah, I'm leaving." He shouts out down the hall towards Sarah's room.

They both peek out and smile. His mom walks down the hall and smoothes out his collar. "You look very handsome Noah."

He laughs. "Thanks ma. I'm probably going to stay at Rachel's tonight." Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "Get the thoughts of Jewish babies out of your mind woman."

Sarah rolls her eyes. "Have fun. We're just going to order in and hang out."

Puck nods at them both, grabs his keys and taps his pocket to make sure he has his phone, then moves to go pick up Rachel from the condo.

Brittany sits in Rachel's vanity chair that they dragged into the bathroom to do her makeup while Santana works on her hair. This seems all too familiar from Santana's big date with Finn. The aforementioned man was sitting in their living room watching a football game while Puck and Mike were on their way over.

"I'm so glad you picked this outfit Rach." Brittany sits on top of the counter once she finished applying the mascara. She sits in a white/silver silk top with a black puffball skirt and black high heels.

"You seriously look sexy. Puck is going to flip his shit." Santana finishes up her hair and moves over to Brittany to admire their work. She worked it so her brown curls were in waves falling over her shoulders and made a cute little poof at the front where her grown out bangs used to hang. Santana moves quickly to paint Rachel's nails white before she leaves.

"PezBerry Pie! We're here!" Mike calls out and the front door shuts.

"Oh! Mikie and Puck are here. Don't come out until we scream for you." The blonde grins and walks out of the bathroom while dragging Santana with her, while Santana says at the same time, "What did he just call us?"

Rachel stands up and looks in the mirror. She does look sexy, if she says so herself. And that in no way means she's cocky, as Puck likes to put it. Brittany squeals and she just automatically takes that as her cue to go out there. Her heels click along the hardwood floor and she sees Finn and Santana sitting on the couch, her legs propped up on his thighs, with Mike and Brittany laying on the couch looking up at the TV. Puck sits in the oversized chair that's usually reserved for Mike. Once she walks into the room, both guys have their jaws hanging wide open while her best friends sit there smiling.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she whispers into his ear. "Hi baby."

Puck stands up and leers at her. "Holy shit Ray. You look gorgeous." He leans over and kisses her.

She takes a minute to look at him. Dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest and what she assumes is a white muscle shirt underneath and dark wash jeans with some dress shoes. "You look handsome." Rachel pulls him closer by his collar, since her heels make the top of her head come up to his neck instead of his pectoral muscles, and kisses him deeply.

"Whoa you two, calm down." Finn laughs and takes a pull from his beer on the table. "Holly is going to be at the premiere when you get there, but she won't be inside. She'll probably tell you to pose with Quinn at least once." He rolls his eyes.

"I don't like them." Brittany folds her arms over her chest and pouts at Puck.

"They're dumb skanks Britts." Santana looks over to Rachel and gives her an encouraging smile.

"Whatever. He's mine." She looks up at him and smiles.

He grins and pecks her lips. "We gotta get going. See ya after." Puck salutes them all and pushes Rachel towards the door. He decided they would just come to the condo afterwards since she lived closer to Hollywood anyways.

The red carpet is absolutely nothing what Rachel thought it would be. There is a line of photographers, literally, a line, that stands in front of said carpet and behind it is a board with sponsors and the posters for the movie.

"Just smile and you'll be alright." Puck kisses her neck and she tilts her head, sighing. It drives her insane when he kisses her right in that spot above her collar bone or behind her ear. She's about to say screw the premiere and take him back to the car so she can have her way with him.

"Don't let go of me." She squeezes his hand and he smirks at her.

Holly motions for them to walk out onto the carpet with Quinn right behind them. One of his arms drops over her shoulders, her left hand laced with his and they both smile at the millions of flashes that are going off. Rachel curls into his side naturally then reaches up to kiss his cheek. Puck looks down at her and smiles, fuck he probably looks goofy but he doesn't even care, then leans in to kiss her. It seems like even more flashes go off before he hears Holly behind him clear her throat.

"Get a picture with Quinn." She tilts her head towards the blonde and smiles curtly while Rachel continues to smile at the cameras.

"Be right back baby. The sooner I get this over with, the quicker we can get inside."

Rachel smiles and wipes the clear lipgloss off his cheek that she left. "Alright."

Puck walks over to Quinn and throws his arm over her shoulder carelessly and smirks at the cameras while she smiles brightly. He glances to the right and sees Rachel smiling and laughing with McLovin from _Superbad_. His eyes widen and he immediately ditches Quinn and walks over to his girl. The guy takes a few pictures with them then he leaves.

"Baby, that was…" He stares down at her with wide eyes. She's a natural at meeting people and smiling for the camera.

"I know! Oh my God wait until I tell Brittany! She _loves_ that guy!" Rachel starts to ramble on and on even though they're still in front of the photographers and they're snapping pictures like she's a queen. He laughs and puts his right hand on her cheek and his left hand around her waist before he pulls her to him and kisses the hell out of her, effectively shutting her up.

The many photographers hoot and holler while they make out and Quinn just glances over at Holly who looks slightly appalled at their display of affection.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry about the wait again. Hopefully this chapter will be acceptable for you guys though. I think I managed to get past the little block I had. I have a few ideas for the next chapter and I think it'll all come to me pretty fast!<em>

_Plus I've been working on a pretty long one shot to post soon, I hope! Any of you guys like baseball?_

_**Edit:** The outfit that Rachel wears to the premiere is inspired by this: Google Images- lea michele black puffball skirt , first image that pops up!  
><em>


	11. Chapter 11

_I probably can't express how shit awful I think this chapter is. The part I really want to get to in my story has been stuck in my head and trying to get there is creating a path of destruction into my creative thoughts. I'm really sorry! But I hope you guys will attempt to like it. Also, it's way shorter than I thought it'd be...another part of it being suckish.  
><em>

_Also, to my 100__th__ viewer: _PuckleberryFinnx11 _your idea is in here as well : ) I hope you like it!_

* * *

><p>At 3:30 a.m., Puck's alarm starts to wail on the new nightstand that Rachel bought for his side of the bed since it took him longer to get up and walk over to her vanity to turn it off. And he hated, well not hated, but he really disliked it when Rachel was tired and moody. He silences it and throws his arm over his eyes, exhaling deeply.<p>

"Just shower here Noah. It's pointless to go across town just to wake up your family then come back to this side of town to go to the set." Rachel rolls over and rubs his chest sleepily, her fingers running through the tiny chest hairs that were there.

Puck just grunts and leans over to kiss Rachel's nose, then gets up out of bed. He grabs the clothes that he brought over for after the premiere and walks off to the bathroom while Rachel falls back asleep.

Sometime around eight, Brittany waltzes into Rachel's room with Lord Tubbington and grabs Rachel's laptop then plops down where Puck was sleeping just a few hours ago. The cat climbs onto the brunette's stomach and starts to purr loudly, effectively waking Rachel up.

She rubs her eyes and looks over to Brittany."What time is it?"

"Around 8, but I have something I want to show you." She smiles and opens up the laptop, pulling up the page that they all looked at last night before bed and before the two of them got back from the premiere.

She sits up and adjusts the cat onto her lap, leaning on Brittany's shoulder as she looks at the laptop. "Are those from last night?"

The blonde nods. "We saw them last night, but the photographers went crazy over you two."

Brittany points at the picture of them making out towards the end of the red carpet but the only thing she notices is the way Holly is looking at them. The woman is practically glaring at Rachel's back. It makes her stomach clench in a weird way.

"I really like that one." Rachel points to one and as she looks over the other pictures, something catches her eye at the bottom of the screen. "Hey, click on that." She points to a link that has a picture of Puck on it.

Brittany pulls it up and sees it's an article from last week. Puck is sitting outside at a table with Holly, him with a small glass that looks like it could be filled with liquor and her with a glass of wine. He has a big grin on while she has her head tilted back and laughing, her curly brown hair falling over her chair.

_Does Noah Puckerman have something going on with his publicist behind his girlfriend's back? It's been shown that during his time on set, he's been going to get lunch with his publicist frequently. How does Rachel feel about any of this or does she even know? The two haven't been heading out in public a lot since their big vacation in Miami. Maybe our resident bad boy is embarrassed of his LFL girlfriend. Or is he getting bored with being tied down? Only time will tell._

"We didn't see this last night." Brittany frowns.

"Nothing could be going on. Right?" Rachel looks at her friend, hoping for reassurance.

"I've seen how he looks at you Rachel and Holly doesn't have a damn chance. But if you're really worried about it, talk to him." She smiles sadly as Rachel's shoulders slump forward. She pushes at the brunette's shoulder. "Go talk to him on set Rachel. I know it's killing you to know."

She laughs lightly and moves Lord Tubbington to the middle of the bed. Quickly gathering some clothes, she pulls them on after freshening up in the bathroom then running out the door.

* * *

><p>Rachel walks onto the set where Puck is located, his mother hot on her heels since she promised him and Sarah both that she would keep the woman entertained since they'd be gone all day, and she's <em>really<em> glad the director isn't around. But she does notice Holly lurking around in the background talking to Quinn, eyeing her suspiciously. It's like she suddenly has a Holly radar.

"Hey baby." Puck turns towards her, chewing some gum. He's a bit shocked that she's here, but the security knew that she could come to visit him any time that she wanted. "What are you doing here?"

Rachel leans forward and kisses him quickly, glad that he's smart enough to start chewing gum after he has to kiss Quinn. "We need to talk."

Oh shit. He knew that those four famous words were _never_ good. Puck glances around and sees that his mother is standing there with her eyes wide open. "Um, what about?"

"Brittany was being extremely sweet this morning and showing me the pictures that were taken of us last night at the premiere, which we look amazing by the way, but I noticed that a certain _someone_ was glaring at me. Then I noticed a small number of other pictures that people have posted online. Like you and Holly eating lunch a few times." He stares at her blankly, hoping she'll be giving him more details.

Puck sits up straighter in his chair and reaches for Rachel's hips but she takes a step back. "I was having lunch with her because she was trying to get me on a few talk shows and magazine articles."

"Can't she just call you to talk about that? And seriously why is she always on set!" Her eyes glance over to the brunette. "She's your publicist. If _anyone_ should be here on set, I'd think it'd be Finn but I don't see him lurking around. Did you even know that there were people questioning our relationship?""

He sighs. "Let's go talk in my trailer. Please."

Rachel huffs and walks hurriedly over to his trailer with him trying to keep up and his mother scrambling behind them. Once they get in, the door is still open a bit, but he sits down and tries to pull Rachel to him but she refuses. His mom stands near the door against the wall, curious to see what's about to happen.

"What is this really about Rach? She's my publicist."

"I can see the way she looks at you." She managed to stay calm on set, but now her voice is getting to be a borderline hysterical. "Holly still wants you Noah! And I am _not_ the jealous girlfriend. I swear to you I'm not, but there is something about her that unnerves me. I'm not crazy!"

"Baby…she doesn't want me." He reaches out for her calmly. " It's just business."

"Business!" She shrieks out and out of the corner of his eye, he's surprised to see his own mother flinching.

"Well yeah…" He shrugs like it's not a big deal.

"I don't think she knows how to do her damn job Noah. She's your publicist yet it seems like she hasn't done shit to do anything for you. Finn seems to be doing all of the work! _He's_ the one who got you GQ. They didn't even contact her! They emailed him. Not Holly." Her eyes tear up as she looks up into his handsome green eyes. "God, the day we told her about our relationship and you walked off to take that phone call, Santana saw the way she was staring at your ass. Santana automatically _knew_ that you two fucked and that the bitch still wants you."

The way Rachel was suddenly cussing was making his pants tighter but his chest felt tight. She had to be wrong. Holly didn't lurk around and stare at him. "She's on set all the time because she's best friends with Quinn. And she does do her job Rachel."

"Are you embarrassed to be with me? That's what people are saying online." She asks quietly, looking up at him.

"Why the fuck would you ask me that? No, I'm not embarrassed to be with you."

She huffs and storms out of the trailer, wiping her eyes. Something just doesn't feel right. The second she steps out and the tears are gone, even though her cheeks still feel wet, she notices Quinn and Holly peering out from her trailer that's right next to his. They heard everything. Or at least her yelling.

Puck looks at his mom and she's just standing there shocked. "Noah…" He pushes past her out the door and looks at Rachel.

"Baby, look I didn't want you to cry, but I assure you there's nothing going on. You're all I fucking want."

"I'm still mad at you. You think I'm just being paranoid." She looks over at Holly, who happens to be smirking at her in a very Puck-like fashion. It pisses her off.

"No, I'm—" He gets cut off by her kissing him hard.

Rebecca suddenly becomes very interested in how his trailer was made, inspecting the metal of it.

Puck pulls her in close, because even if she is mad, this kiss is extremely hot. Territorial Rachel was turning him on way more than it probably should, considering that his mother was right behind him and everyone on the lot was probably staring. Fuck, he's tempted to just take her up against the side of his trailer, mother standing there or not. Puck reaches down and puts his hands on the backs of her thighs and pulls her up, her sexy tan legs wrapping around his waist. Rachel whimpers into the kiss and moves her lips down to his neck, nipping and sucking at his flesh. She's completely aware of all the people who are staring but she doesn't even care at the moment. He's completely unaware at the moment of what she's doing to his neck but he's ecstatic when she kisses up his jaw and latches onto his lips again.

Puck kisses her hard before he pulls away and sets her feet back onto the ground. His mother clears her throat nervously and stares at the ground. He laughs and looks down at Rachel's swollen lips, rubbing his thumb across the bottom one.

"I'm still mad at you. Hopefully you'll realize that I'm right." She glances over at Holly and Quinn, both of their jaws dropped. Rachel leans up and nips at his lips a few times before she pulls away. Winking at the two women, she turns and walks away.

"Noah, I would stay and attempt to talk to you about this, but seeing how she's my ride." Rebecca shrugs.

"It's fine ma." He smirks gently and watches as she walks quickly over to Rachel.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like _that_ before." Rebecca laughs and links her arm with Rachel's.

Her cheeks flush a bright red. "That was highly inappropriate. I'm really sorry, I just really don't like them."

"Oh sweetheart, you're not the only one." She takes her other hand and pats Rachel's arm. "Sarah has always had her suspicions of them. Let's go shopping."

"I'd like that. Would you like to come to our practice later?"

"I would love to." Rebecca smiles and looks back at her son.

Puck tilts his head at the retreating figures of Rachel and his mom, but he turns and sees that Holly is staring at him. Maybe she was right, but that can't be. Holly wouldn't fuck up his relationship. Right? He laughs to himself and walks into his trailer to go take care of himself from that amazingly hot make out session.

Once he's cleaning up, he looks into the mirror and sees the hickey that she left on his pulse point right above his collar bone. Shit, he wants her even more but he knows that he'll have to make it up to her since she's still mad.

* * *

><p>Rebecca sits in the stands during practice, watching as Rachel takes out all her aggression on the defense. It's actually quite interesting to watch. As violent as it is, but she's seen far worse from her son in high school. Brittany's group finally gets a break and she walks up the steps to sit with Puck's mom.<p>

Beiste finally gives everyone a break and Rachel is on the ground, doing crunches, to work off her extra frustration. Santana moves up the steps and sits on the other side of Rebecca, leaving her in the middle of them.

"She's not normally like this." Brittany admits while staring at her friend.

"What even happened at the set?"

"Rachel saw Holly talking with that Quinn girl and she just kind of exploded. I've never seen any girl stand up to my Noah like that. I think she left a mark on his neck too."

All three of them laugh and eye Rachel as she stands up and stretches.

* * *

><p>Sarah sits back in her chair, watching Puck, Finn and Mike completely devour all the beef stew that their mom made, while Rebecca herself anxiously watches her son.<p>

"So she was like, legit mad?" Finn pauses and looks over to Rebecca.

Rebecca nods and looks over to Puck.

He drops his bowl to the coffee table and puts his hands behind his head. "Dude, do you even know what article she was talking about? She asked if I was embarrassed to be seen with her."

Mike clears his throat and sets down his bowl. "Well we were looking at pictures of you guys from the premiere on a certain website. Maybe she saw it on there when Brittany showed her the pictures this morning. She was so excited, saying and I quote 'Puckleberry takes the cutest pictures.' So check on there."

Puck starts to ask about the pictures and Rebecca smiles widely, talking about how cute they looked.

Sarah walks into her room and pulls out her laptop to look for the article Rachel might have seen. First she glances over the pictures from the premiere before noticing a picture of her brother and another girl at the bottom of the page. Puck is smiling and his dumb publicist has her head back and laughing. Sighing, she picks it up and pads back into the living room, dumping the computer onto his lap with the article pulled up. They all glance at her warily while he reads.

"Well shit." He runs a hand over his head.

Finn and Mike pull the laptop over to the couch so that they could read it. Mike looks up at meets Puck's eyes, shaking his head. Finn just sighs and pushes the computer away. "I don't really understand why she's so mad. She's your publicist and you have the right to go have lunch with her to discuss things."

"Really Finn?" Mike looks over at him. "You honestly don't see how that could be a bad thing?" He waves over to the laptop again.

"Okay boys, let's not argue about this." Rebecca closes the computer and looks over to Sarah for some sort of help since they're the only two women in the room.

"Just make it up to her. Do something special."

"Okay, like what?" Puck looks around at his family.

Everyone looks around at each other before they all start talking at once. "Dinner and a movie." "A walk on the beach." "Drive out of town for a day."

"Wait, dinner and a movie? Finn are you serious?" Mike looks over, absolutely appalled.

"What's wrong with dinner and a movie? It's the classic go-to date."

"Why would you go with the classic go-to date if you're trying to make it up to someone special?"

Rebecca stares at the two arguing about the dates that they recommended. She shakes her head and looks over to her son. There's a crease forming between his eyebrows. Sarah has joined in on the conversation so she nudges his foot under the coffee table and motions to the kitchen.

"What?"

"Don't take that tone with me young man." His shoulders slump forward and he sighs. "Why don't you talk to two very nice girls who happen to know what Rachel loves?"

Puck perks up and looks at his mom. "You're a genius. Thank you ma." He kisses her cheek and runs out the door.

Once they hear the door close, the three in the living room look over to Rebecca. "Where'd he go?" She shrugs and walks back over to the couch, spooning in more stew into her bowl.

* * *

><p>Santana opens the door and finds Puck staring at her. "You couldn't have used the key?" She walks away towards the living room where she and Brittany were watching a movie.<p>

"Where's Rachel?"

"Out shopping. Again." Brittany sighs and looks at Puck. "What did you say to her?"

He sits down in the chair and looks at them both. "Shit, okay I get that I didn't handle any of that article in the best way. But I want to make it up to her. Dunno how to though, so I came to you two."

Santana sits up and leans forward on her elbows. "We have some questions first. You two barely go out as it is, so are you ashamed to be with her?"

"The fuck? No."

"Okay, then what I think you should do is go somewhere in public, but not where people will be freaking out over you, but you'll be seen."

"That was only one question."

"Seriously Puck?" Brittany looks over at him with her eyes wide. "Do you even want our help?"

"Shit, yes I do." He runs his hands over his head. "Tell me what to do. Where would she want to go?"

The blonde taps her finger against her chin. Where would Rachel want to go? "Oh! Baseball game. She hasn't been to one in awhile."

"That's smart Britts! You'll get plenty of attention there and she loves going to games."

"I think you guys have been so consumed by practice for this conference game that you guys forgot what month it is. Baseball season is over." Puck frowns. He really liked that idea.

"Fuck really?" Santana looks over to Brittany and she shrugs. "In that case…" She purses her lips and thinks. Suddenly she slaps her hands down on her thighs. "I GOT IT! They usually do this ice skating thing downtown. She wanted to go to it last year but we didn't get a chance to. I heard they were opening it earlier this year. Rachel has missed ice skating in New York since she moved here."

"That's a great idea. Shit I could kiss you both right now." He stands up and kisses each of their foreheads before he bolts over to Rachel's room to get on her laptop.

Rachel walks through the front door, dropping her purse and keys next to the table. Brittany and Santana are asleep with a movie playing on the screen. Laughing quietly to herself, she moves down to her room only to see Puck laying there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you doing here?"

"You should really get a TV in here." He sits up and stretches, looking at all her shopping bags. "What'd you get?" He nods at the bags.

"A lot of things I probably shouldn't have bought." She sighs and puts them down by her chair. "And I was thinking of getting a TV actually." Sitting on the chair, she picks at a loose thread on her jeans. "What are you doing here?" She asks again, but more quietly.

"We're going out." Puck stands up and walks over to her, holding his hand out.

She takes it hesitatingly and stands up. "Where?"

"Not tellin ya. But you should dress in something you'll be comfortable wearing outside for awhile."

Rachel pinches her eyebrows together before she moves over to her closet. "What would be appropriate?"

"Your jeans are fine. You should wear a v-neck shirt and a scarf. I really liked that the last time you wore it." He smiles and shoves his hands into his pockets.

She looks him up and down before she grabs a navy blue shirt out. After she's slipped off her shirt he walks over and wraps his arms around her. "I'm sorry Ray." He kisses her ear and then backs away so she'll finish getting ready.

Once she's dressed she fits herself in between his thighs while he sits on the bed. Rachel wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his forehead, speaking while her lips linger there. "It's really hard to stay mad at you."

He kisses her chin then looks up into her eyes. "Let's go. I'm really excited to take you out."

"Noah Puckerman is excited about going somewhere. This should be interesting." She giggles and helps him up. "Shh, San and Britt are asleep." They walk down the hall and then out the front door once she leaves them a note on the coffee table.

Rachel looks out at the ice skating rink, tears prickling her eyes. "How did you know?" She looks up at him.

"I'm pretty awesome." He smirks and reaches down to squeeze her hand.

She rolls her eyes. "You had help."

"Maybe." He grins and walks over to the booth where they can get their skates.

Rachel laces up her skates then quickly dashes away to get on the ice, leaving Puck on the bench while he's lacing his up. He looks at her and sees how happy she is. The little kids that are actually out during the day, are looking at her with awe. His feet finally move him towards the ice and he's actually a little glad that he can thank Ohio's shitty winter weather for knowing how to actually do this. That and peewee hockey.

She glides over to him and smiles brightly. "I've missed this so much. Thank you for bringing me here." Her arms wrap around his waist.

"Not a problem babe. But I think I can probably skate better than you."

Rachel gasps. "I don't think so."

"Wanna bet?" He grins evilly.

"You are _so_ on Puckerman." She smiles up at him and pecks his lips before she skates off.

Forty five minutes later before their hour is up, Puck leans defeated against the railing while Rachel grins up at him. If he didn't like this girl so damn much, he'd be royally pissed that she is actually a better skater than him.

"Is this the time where I get to say I told you so?" She laughs and reaches for his hands.

He rolls his eyes and laughs a little. "Let's stay in a hotel tonight." Puck looks at her while she moves back and forth on the ice, holding his hands while he stands in one spot.

"Why?" She tilts her head to the side and eyes him carefully.

"Because ever since Sarah moved in and with my mom being in town, I feel like we haven't had just us time. And I need to make it up to you for being such a giant asshole. It'll be fun."

"Noah…you've already made it up to me by bringing me here. This is really so special." She moves back to him and pulls him down for a kiss. "You're amazing."

"C'mon Rach. Just say yes, you know you want to. We can get room service and other shit." He moves his eyebrows up and down, grinning at her seductively.

A pair of twins skate up near them, a little girl and a little boy, and glance at them warily. Rachel looks over and smiles. "Hi there."

The little girl looks over at her brother hesitatingly. He rolls his eyes and looks up at them. "Hey. Are you Noah Puckerman?"

He laughs. "I am. What's up?"

"You're really cool." The little boy grins. "And my brat sister here, wanted your autograph or whatever."

Rachel moves out of the way while Puck kneels down and pulls a pen out of his pocket. "I have a little sister." He scribbles something on the piece of paper that she has.

"Really?" Her eyes light up and she looks at him. Rachel can't help but giggle, but covers her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah, she can be a pain, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. It's the best job about being a brother." He winks at her and smirks at the little boy. "Here you go. I think your parents might be a little worried." Puck looks over to where a couple is standing nervously and he waves.

She looks at him talking with the kids. He'll be a really good dad one day.

"Thanks dude. C'mon brat." The little boy pulls her sister and skates away.

"You're good with kids." Rachel puts her hands on top of his shoulders and stretches the best she can to kiss his chin.

"I've had practice." He squeezes her tight against his chest. "So you never gave me an answer."

"I really don't deserve all this. But okay."

Puck laughs and picks her up, spinning her in a circle. "Let's go turn in these skates. I'm fucking sick of looking at ice." She rolls her eyes and grips his hand anyways.

* * *

><p>They're laying naked under the sheets, fingers playing with each other's as they look at each other. Rachel's face is flushed while she takes deep even breathes to try and get her breathing back to normal.<p>

"Can I ask you something? Without pissing you off?"

She readjusts her head on the pillow and looks into his eyes. "Yes."

"What happened with you and that Matt guy?"

Her fingers instantly still and she sighs. "I figured you would ask sooner or later. I guess it all kind of started in high school. I was always really determined, being in glee club and trying to do all things possible to get to Broadway. Because of that, everyone _hated_ me until I got to college. Then I was mixed in with all the other determined people. Competition and all those other things, that's what pushed me away. In a way it really got too chaotic for me. But I didn't date. Not out of lack of interest, but because no guy wanted to date me. I used to get bullied daily. I had a few dates every now and then in college, but nothing serious. When I moved to LA and met Matt, he liked me. I definitely changed from how I was in high school, so you know, I guess what's not to like? He was my first serious boyfriend." She bites her lip. In a way, Puck is really only her second boyfriend and she feels so inexperienced.

"Keep going." He smiles at her reassuringly.

"But he was really determined to get further in his career that we just started to pull away. He was being really competitive and as you now know, that's what pulled me away from that line of work. I'm competitive with sports, because I'm with a team, I don't have to work alone. But it just got to the point where he was blowing off dates and coming to my games, just to kiss ass at work. I couldn't be with that anymore."

"You wouldn't have dated in me in high school." He tucks her hair behind her ear.

"Why's that?"

"I was a bully. Always coming in second place to Finn. I would throw slushees on losers and throw them into dumpsters."

Rachel laughs and pushes at his shoulder. "I'd get drinks thrown on me."

"They're jackasses." He mumbles, looking away. How could he have treated someone that way? Especially now that he's dating someone who is so amazing but got bullied.

"We're different now and we're happy." She smiles at him and curls up against his chest.

"Yeah we are. If you don't like competitions, how are you going to deal with Idol?"

"That's something that I want, so I won't mind working hard for it." She smiles at him. "Thank you for our date. It was perfect."

Rachel kisses his chest and closes her eyes. "No problem babe. I'm just glad you had fun. I have a meeting tomorrow with Finn, Quinn, the director and some other people on set so we'll have to leave here kinda early." He feels her hum against his chest, so he drops a kiss to her hairline and closes his eyes.

* * *

><p>Quinn walks up to Finn's apartment, ready to get this meeting over with. Sure, the two guys were both hesitant at riding all together at first but they quickly got over it. She knocks on the door and hears shuffling on the other side but she just looks down at her phone, scrolling through the newest Twitter updates. Impatiently, she taps her foot and knocks again. The door down the hall opens up and she looks over to see a blonde staring at her. Her arms are folded while her head tilts to the side, leaning against the door frame. Quinn eyes her suspiciously and turns to the side, mirroring the woman's looks.<p>

The door in front of her opens up and Finn looks at her oddly before looking down the hall. He laughs and motions for Puck to come out so he can lock the door and head out. They both laugh when Brittany winks and closes the door.

"How rude." Quinn scoffs and moves to walk in front of them.

Puck rolls his eyes and moves towards the elevators.

Once they get on set, the director motions them to all of their chairs with a few extras for the agents that decided to show up.

"Thank you all for coming here on our day off." Everyone grunts, but Puck notices not everyone is here. "Now, we were originally going to shoot scene 94 here on set and just build everything ourselves. But I just got word that Wilmington is now free since the movie that was there is done ahead of schedule. The week after Thanksgiving we'll fly over there and we've gotten the space for two weeks. Will everyone be fine with that?" He looks around as everyone nods. "Okay then. Thank you again for your time today."

Puck looks over at Finn. "We'll be gone during Rach's audition."

"She won't be mad man. And you know she'll call you afterwards no matter what."

Puck nods and walks back to Finn's car, thinking about how he'd be able to make _that_ up to her. He sighs and leans his head back on the headrest on the passenger seat. Quinn looks between the two in the backseat, amazed that they completely forgot about her, but smiles as she pulls out her phone to text Holly about how they're going out of town to film. And maybe another little piece of information.


	12. Chapter 12

**Still don't own anything. Mistakes are mine. **

**Interesting thing I saw: An LFL player is going to be on Survivor this upcoming season. Thought that was pretty cool : )**

* * *

><p>Puck's sitting in his trailer, feet propped up on the desk, while strumming his backup guitar he likes to take on sets with him. He's been on set since four this morning and it's already nearing seven at night. He's ready to go home. Holly walks in and sits by his feet, smiling and flicking her pony tail off her shoulder.<p>

"What's up?" He sets his guitar aside and looks up at her.

"I've got fantastic news." She claps her hands together and drops them onto her lap. He quirks up an eyebrow and ignores the buzz from his phone, indicating he has a text message. "I got you a guest spot on _How I Met Your Mother_. They want you specifically for a love interest for Robin. You'll film in January, which means you'll be done doing this movie and you'll have work before you do the press needed for it in April. Well that's when all the traveling would start anyways. You up for it?"

"Um, yeah." He smirks and drops a foot on the ground. "That'd give me plenty of time to go watch Rach and Mike on their shows."

She glances at him warily. "I'm not sure how long they plan on having you, so that'll be decided later. Also, _Cosmopolitan_ wants to do an article on you. They'll do the shoot and interview in January also. And I'm sure I can get you on a few talk shows. We can make an announcement about you doing the show. Or the network will. Either one."

"That's fucking awesome."

Holly shrugs up her right shoulder. "Not a problem. It seems like it's easier to get you these things than it is with Quinnie."

"I think we know why with that one." He laughs and moves into the bathroom to change out of his costume uniform and into gym shorts.

"People just like handsome men more." She looks at him appreciatively while he's pulling his shirt over his head.

Puck eyes her and moves to tie his tennis shoes on the couch away from her. "Yeah, sure. 'Cause guy hosts don't like beautiful women." He rolls his eyes.

She stands up and moves in front of him, tracing her finger along his jaw. "We really did look great together Puck. You can't deny it."

"Look, I'm really not okay with this shit. You're my publicist, start acting like it." He stands up and moves back to the desk, opening up the drawer to retrieve his keys and wallet.

"What do you even see in her?"

"This isn't cool anymore. You need to back off. Rachel is my girlfriend and she's going to come first over you any damn day of the week. You may have just booked a lot of great gigs for me, but you have got to stop this flirting shit and making my girl uncomfortable. Quinn's done filming so you don't even need to be on set. You can call me for anything you want to discuss about my job. So don't think I won't fire you in a heartbeat. I don't want to, because you've been there for me since the start, but shit's over between us."

"Have it your way Puck." She smiles coolly and walks by him, caressing his cheek.

He rubs his hands over his face and picks up his phone.

_Rachel: At your apt, Sarah went out to dinner with San and Finn. She's going to stay at the condo. See you soon?_

Puck doesn't bother to respond. He moves out to the set and makes sure with the director that he can leave, before jumping into his car to go talk to Rachel.

When he pushes into his apartment, she's sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and salad in front of her. "Hi! You didn't text me so I didn't know when you'd be back. I've got manicotti in the oven and salad on the counter."

"You're amazing." He leans over and kisses her before sitting down in front of her on the coffee table. "Look, I gotta tell you something."

"Good or bad?" She sets the glass down and moves her knees in between his legs.

"Well both actually." He scratches his forehead and sets his hands on her smooth thighs.

"Good first." Rachel smiles and moves closer to him.

"Holly got me a guest spot on _How I Met Your Mother_, but she's not sure how long it'll last. I'll start filming in January."

She gasps and grips his knee. "You get to meet Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris? I'm so jealous!"

Puck laughs and nods. "I'm also doing an article for that chick magazine you like to read. The sex one."

"_Cosmo?_"

"Yeah, that one."

"That's amazing Noah. You have GQ in December that comes out in January too. I'll have to get copies to keep me company while I'm on the show." She winks at him and rubs circles on his hand with her thumb.

"I'm pretty stoked." He grins but then looks down at her hand nervously. "Anyways, the bad news… Holly hit on me."

"What?" She pulls her hand away and stares at him until he explains further.

"I told her she needs to back off and to stop making you so uncomfortable. Even said that if she keeps it up that I'll fire her."

She's upset, but her expression softens. "Really? You'd fire her?"

Puck pulls her so that she's sitting on his lap. "You're way more important to me than her and I told her that. So yes, I'd fire her." He pushes her hair back while she looks at him all teary eyed. "Don't cry baby, but you could get me some food." He grins and kisses her noisily on her cheek. "It's been a long ass day."

Rachel rolls her eyes and stands up. "Only because you had a long day and threatened Holly." Once she gets to the kitchen, she pokes her head out over the breakfast bar. "Maybe you'll get some really good dessert later."

"God you're hot." He leans back into the couch and watches as she moves around in his kitchen.

After dinner, Rachel lays on the couch with her head on his lap before she rolls over and looks up at him. "Thank you for sticking up for our relationship. I shouldn't have gotten so upset when your mom was in town. That's not me."

Puck smirks. "I know it's not baby. Just know that you are more important than her."

* * *

><p>"She hit on him?" Brittany stares at Rachel.<p>

"Please tell me he threatened the bitch. I'm not scared to go cut her. I have razorblades hidden in my hair. Tons. Just all up in there." She motions to her dark wavy hair.

"No you don't, I just did your hair an hour ago." Brittany looks over to her confused.

"That's beside the point. She needs to back the fuck off."

"That's what he told her." Rachel smiles. "He told her that I come before her and he wouldn't have a problem firing her. I'm really falling for him."

Her best friend's 'aww' at the same time, Santana a little more sarcastically than Brittany. "I can't believe we're all so happy. Then the conference game tomorrow. And then Thanksgiving! Mike and I said I love you to each other, Rachel is falling in love with Puck, and Santana is actually in a relationship. Guys!" Brittany wipes her eyes and stares at them both.

"You and Mike said I love you to each other?"

"Yeah, it was by complete accident but that just means we meant it even more instead of planning something complicated."

Rachel looks over at Santana. "So cute."

"Yeah, gushing the 'L' word is wonderful. Let's go to the spa so that we can fully relax and be lazy tomorrow before the game." She moves towards the door before she turns to Brittany. "I am happy for you though."

* * *

><p>He's staring at the elevator buttons while it lurks up to the appropriate floor. It dings and stops, so he moves out down the hall towards the door. Knocking three times against the door, he leans against the frame until it opens, revealing Sarah.<p>

"CONNOR!" She grins widely and hugs him tight.

"Hey kid." Connor squeezes her then follows her into the living room and flops down onto one of the chairs. "Where's Puck at?"

"Work." She rolls her eyes. "I just hope he'll make it in time for the game. I can't believe it's the weekend before Thanksgiving. At least they were smart enough to have the conference game beforehand."

He laughs. "Yeah. I'm just glad to be on leave. Day after Thanksgiving I'm headed out to London."

"Time flies." She looks down onto her lap. "Feels like mom was just leaving the other day. It's been so quiet."

"That's what Puck said. I think he misses the home cooked food."

Sarah snorts. "Cause we had so much of it when we were younger. But I guess since she doesn't have to take care of us it's a lot easier."

"You gonna help with Thanksgiving dinner?"

"I'd probably burn down their kitchen, so no. I'll let them handle that one."

"So I found out we're probably leaving around Christmas time." He looks over at her, catching her off guard.

"Oh." She bites her lip. "Are you nervous?"

"It's my fifth deployment so kind of, but once I get there I'm really focused. So you know." He shrugs.

Sarah stands up and nods. "Well be better get going to the game. Finn and Mike are going to save us seats. They usually like to get there early and stare." She laughs and moves to get her purse, worried about Connor leaving.

Sarah and Connor sit down in the front row next to Finn and Mike. They nod to Connor, glad to see that he actually made it there in time for the game. The girls are warming up on the field, doing lunges down to the 15 yard line before turning around and going to the end zone. Rachel looks over and sees Connor, waving and smiling brightly, but frowns when she doesn't see Puck.

"I feel so bad. He should've been here by now." Sarah looks over to Connor.

"He told me he was leaving the set not too long ago." Finn looks to Mike who shrugs.

"I've been at the studio all day. Haven't had a chance to talk to him. Maybe he's just getting everyone beer."

"Do they sell food here? I'm starving."

"Yeah, up near the entrance."

Connor grins and walks away to go get everyone something.

Rachel looks back at the stands and sees that Connor is gone now. She sighs and bends over, reaching down towards her toes.

"Hey Rach!" Santana waves her over. "We gotta get back in the locker room. They're going to start showing the videos up on the screen. I know you want your man here, but I need you focused."

"I am focused." She glares at her team captain and walks down to the locker room.

Will and Shannon walk into the room, their black LA Temptation collared shirts on, looking around at all the girls sitting down. They look to each other before Will crosses his arms. "Now I know all of you hate my pep talks, so I'm not even going to bother. But I will say one thing. Las Vegas. When we win this we're at the championship game. I don't even need to tell you how much pressure is on us since we won it last year." He looks them all over again and walks out of the room. Shannon just gives them a smug smile before following him out.

"That was weird." Brittany looks around while everyone else nods.

Santana stands up and walks down to the opening where the field is. Everything is dark and on the screen it's showing the commercial they filmed before the season started.

"Will really went all out for this didn't he?" Rachel tilts her head and watches as the teaser for the league ends and the real commercial begins.

"Sure did." Santana smiles and stretches her hands above her head. "Game time."

Puck flies down the steps towards the front row as the lights start to die down. God he hopes he doesn't miss a step and end up on the field dead. That would be his shitty ass luck. He moves down the row and sees an empty seat. Once he gets into it, he slams into the person next to him, which is thankfully Connor, as the teaser commercial pops up for the other team.

"Dude." He rubs his right side and glares at Puck. He grabs a beer and shoves it at him along with a bag of popcorn.

"You fucking rock." Puck shoves a handful into his mouth and moans.

"Why are you so damn late? Rachel was looking up here during warm-ups."

"We were going over the travel plans and where we'd be staying once I get to Wilmington. Director decided he'd take his sweet time. Oh, you coming on set with me tomorrow?"

"Yep. But right now I'd like to watch the commercial for our team." He winks at Puck and looks up at the screen.

The music plays and smoke starts to fill the stadium. Rachel shows up on the screen, with eye black under her eyes, walking towards the camera then cuts off to another member of the team. Santana shows up on the screen looking at the camera and tilting her head up then to the left, also with black on her cheeks. A few other women show up on the screen, wearing lingerie and posing in seductive ways before the words 'bored with halftime' show up on the screen. A few clips of their plays from games last year show up on the screen. Then it cuts to a few more other players before showing Rachel leaning up against a wall in her full uniform, making Puck's crotch twitch a bit. Brittany runs down the hallway towards the camera before stopping and showing the left side of her face, smiling. It moves into alternating between clips and players before showing Santana flipping her hair back and smirking at the camera, winking before it cuts out again. The words 'wanna play?' pops up before it shows Rachel again, tossing up the ball and catching it, laughing then looking at the camera and winking.

Mike, Finn, Sarah and Connor all lean over and look to the right at Puck.

"I think he's drooling." Mike laughs and crumples up a napkin before throwing it at his friend. "Dude, your popcorn is gonna be nasty if you keep getting spit into it."

"Fuck off man. Finn is probably two seconds away from thinking 'mail man' over those clips of Santana."

"Mail man?" Connor looks between them all.

"I'll tell you later." Sarah laughs and looks at the other team running onto the field, causing the smoke to swirl around them.

Finn looks between them all angrily. "No, you will not tell him later. That's personal information that I don't need anyone else in the world knowing! Especially Santana."

"Oh shit, she doesn't know? Oh God, we're telling her after the game." Mike grins.

"No you're not!" Finn moves to punch Mike's arm, but the other three shush him when the lights go dark.

An announcer comes on and introduces them. The strobe light starts to go off with a spotlight on the entrance for their team. Santana, Rachel and Brittany lead the team out of the tunnel and onto the field, pumping their fists in the air while they have their helmets tucked under their arms. The music dies down and the lights come back on in the stadium while the teams go to their respective sides and get ready for kickoff.

* * *

><p>The day of Thanksgiving is completely chaotic in Puck's opinion. He got to the condo with Sarah and Connor around twelve and the girls were bumping into each other in the kitchen trying to get everything organized. His mouth was completely watering with the smell of turkey and pie cooking.<p>

"It smells so fucking good in here." Connor sniffs the air then drops down onto the loveseat.

"That would be my cherry pie in the oven." Brittany grins over the counter.

Santana scoffs. "Oh please, that would be my huge ass turkey that I've been basting every freakin' hour since ten o'clock." She grabs the baster and opens the oven.

Rachel looks at Puck with a frown on her face. He nods his head towards her room and she takes the mixing bowl with her. He closes the door to her room and looks down at the bowl filled with an orange mixture in it. "Why the hell did you bring that in here for?"

She looks down at the bowl and places it on the nightstand. "I've been grating three pounds of carrots for an hour. My hands are orange!" She pushes them into his face. He laughs and kisses her fingertips. "And I still have to make peach cobbler that Santana wants so bad, but she's been staring at the oven ready to go with that stupid thing that you baste turkeys with. And there's still so much to be done."

He stares at her. "What else do you have to make?"

"I have to get the carrots in the oven at _some_ point, then we have to do the potatoes and green beans. Then we have to bake more. I mean…it's a twenty pound turkey and we have to make a lot of the side items to go with it. We've seen how much you, Finn, Mike and Connor can eat. We're not even going to have leftovers."

Puck pouts. "No turkey sandwiches?"

"Probably not."

"Fuck." He sits on her bed and pulls her between his legs. Puck lifts her shirt and kisses her tan stomach, making her giggle and shove his shoulder. All she's got on is shorts and a tank top, her hair pulled up in a messy pony tail. "You're gorgeous."

"I am not having sex with you right now." She cross her arms over her chest, making her cleavage show a little more.

Puck smirks. "Wasn't askin for it babe. Just telling ya."

"Who would have thought Hollywood's bad boy is so sweet." Puck scoffs and rolls his eyes. She leans towards him a little bit and sets her hands on his shoulders. "I hate that you're leaving next week. I'm making Santana call you while I'm in my audition."

"Yeah, I know babe. I'll be there for the championship game though. We can go crazy in Vegas." He winks at her.

"Don't ask me to marry you when you get drunk." She leans forward and kisses him, forcing herself to pull away when Santana screams her name. Rachel pecks his lips one last time before grabbing the bowl and walking out of her room.

Marriage? Who said anything about marriage? The thought never even _crossed_ his mind. So yeah, she meant it as a joke but still. Most all girls want to get married eventually. He's 26, so not exactly getting younger. His ma has been on his ass for years about getting married to a Jewish girl so she can have her 'perfect Jewish grandbabies.' The thought isn't exactly awful. A little girl with Rachel's eyes and hair, basically a mini Rachel. Or a boy with a mohawk like his old man that he can teach how to swing a bat or throw a football. Shit, this kind of thinking is going to get him in trouble.

Hours later, Santana pulls out the turkey and stares at it proudly. "My twenty pound baby." She coos at the meat in front of her while Rachel and Brittany put everything on the dining room table. When they're done, there's literally no place to put any place mats.

"Um, how are we gonna eat around the table?" Finn looks around confused then back at the table.

"Finn, baby, we're making our plates in here then going in the living room. We're watching all the slap bet episodes of _How I Met Your Mother_ until we get to 'Slapsgiving 1 and 2.' We started to do this last year."

He looks at Santana then gets a goofy grin on his face. "Okay cool. Puck has some good news for you guys later too." He winks at Puck and picks up a plate.

"Wait. Who's carving this thing?" Puck looks down at the turkey.

"Santana. She feels like she's the only one who can mess with the perfection that is the turkey." Rachel rolls her eyes and hands her the carving knife then picks up her own plate.

"Look at it, would you want to ruin that beautiful bird?" Santana looks at all of them pointedly then down to the turkey. "Am I right or am I right?"

All the guys' stomachs growl. "Actually yeah, we kinda could. So do ya think you could just…you know, carve into it?" Mike stares down at it and all the other food. "I'm really hungry."

"Fine!" She mutters under her breath while she starts to carve the meat. She grabs her pieces before moving around the table and settling onto the love seat.

Everyone gathers around and settles into chairs with Sarah and Brittany on the floor with their plates on the coffee table. Everyone moans when they eat the turkey and Santana eats up the compliments. Brittany grabs the remote and hits play, excited that they finally got all the episodes onto one disc just for this occasion.

The girls ate two plates each while the guys settled for three to four plates each. All the guys laughed when Rachel, Santana and Brittany knew all the words to 'Let's Go To The Mall.' But towards the end of the night everyone was getting sleepy, Puck decided to give everyone the good news.

"So guys, the good news I have is that I'm going to be a guest star on _How I Met Your Mother_."

Brittany frowns and looks at Rachel. "He gets to meet Jason Segel?"

Rachel nods. "I know Britt. But maybe he could get us his autograph or something." She nudges Puck.

He laughs. "Yeah maybe."

"Anyways, besides that we all got some presents." Sarah sits up and looks at Connor.

"Presents?" He looks around at everyone. "Um, did I not get a memo or something?"

"No Connor, they're for you! Sarah said that you might be deploying around Christmas so we wanted to give you your gifts now. Well considering three of us are Jewish, but we all get our friends Christmas presents anyways." Rachel smiles and pulls out a box. "This one is from Noah and I."

"You guys really didn't have to do this." He eyes the package warily and looks back at Puck.

"Just open the damn thing Hawthorne. Damn."

He pulls off the shiny wrapping paper and looks at the knife he wanted and a few accessories to go with it, a Marine Recon lighter and hand warmer made by Zippo, then an extra can of fluid. There's a few other items from Zippo that he assumes Puck picked out. "Rachel, Puck, thank you. This shit is awesome."

Rachel smiles brightly and moves into Puck's side. "We're glad you like it."

Finn pulls out a bag and pushes it onto the coffee table. "It's from me and San." He smiles sheepishly and throws his arm over her shoulders.

Connor pulls out the tissue paper and a box, seeing that it's a webcam. "Thanks." He grins.

"Now you can chat with any of us when you get a chance. We're all going to get one tomorrow during the sales. Well we aren't sure if you'd be able to talk to Rachel once she gets on the show but she likes to write letters anyways." Rachel nods and smiles while Santana admires her nails after she finishes talking.

"Us now!" Brittany shoves a big box towards him. She helps him tear off the wrapping paper then sits back against Mike's knees.

"Oh cool." He pulls out warm clothing for the winter nights, music gift cards, stationary, envelopes and stamps. At the very bottom is a new camera. "You guys really went out for this didn't you?"

"I have a cousin in the military and these are things that he really likes when he goes overseas. So I know all the best places to shop." The blonde sits up straighter and smiles.

"Yeah, plus we know it's stuff that you'll want or need." Mike shrugs.

"Thanks a lot you guys."

Sarah clears her throat. "I forgot my present at home, so whenever we leave I'll just give it to you then."

"Sure. I'm leaving early in the morning though."

Puck shifts Rachel on his lap. "Well we're all staying here since the girls are dragging us shopping in the morning. Sarah can just give you a ride home."

"Yeah, of course."

"Just call us or text us whenever you get to the airport. We want to make sure you're safe." Rachel yawns and stands up to hug him. "But I'm going to be now."

"Thanks again for the stuff Rachel. It was really awesome of you guys to do this for me. I'll have to send you guys something."

"No worries. Just focus on being safe." She kisses his cheek then hugs Sarah and moves down the hallway.

Everyone says their goodbyes and Sarah helps Connor carry everything downstairs. When they get into the apartment, she sits on the couch and helps him pack all of it into the duffel bag he has.

"I might need to leave this here and pick it up on my way back to base."

"We kind of forgot that you were leaving the next morning so we didn't really plan that part. Noah won't care if you leave it here though." She shrugs and pulls out her box. "This is mine, obviously." She laughs nervously and looks down at the floor.

Connor glances at her out of the corner of his eye then opens it. Inside is a camouflage quilt and some DVD sets. "Sarah, this is really nice of you to do."

"Oh, God, I didn't make that. It would've been a pile of fabric if I did." She laughs. "I had it made for you. They said it'll be really warm in the winter and cool in the summer."

"Thanks kid."

She smiles and moves to hug him. He squeezes her tight and pulls away. Sarah leans in and presses her lips against his hesitantly until he starts to kiss back. Connor's hands find her hips, moving until he's hovering over her on the couch and traces his tongue on her bottom lip. She moans and arches into him, wrapping her leg around his waist. His right hand moves up her side, cradling her face and she tenses under him, moving to grind against him. Connor instantly freezes and pulls away.

"Shit, Sarah…" He stands up and backs away. "Puck would kill me."

Sarah nods shakily and runs her hand through her hair. "Um, you can stay in my room. I'll stay in Noah's. Come say bye to me before you leave in the morning." She smiles then runs down the hall, slamming the door shut.

"Fuck." He runs his hand over his hair before retreating into Sarah's room.

* * *

><p><em>This is shorter than expected, but if I put in everything that I wanted to in this chapter, it would've been way long with way too much going on. But don't worry! I have the outline for the next chapter already done. I really hope you guys can get past the sucky chapters, but the good stuff is coming up! I promise.<br>_

_Also, the commercial is based off the 2011 Season LFL Commercial I found online. So all credit to the LFL & LA Temptation._

_Coming up in the next chapter: Rachel's Audition! (Finally, right?)  
><em>


	13. Chapter 13

**Still don't anything! Mistakes are mine :)**

* * *

><p>Rachel watches as Puck pulls things out of his dresser and into his suitcase. She's sprawled out on his bed then rolls onto her back, giving him a great view down her top.<p>

"Baby, you're killing me." He packs a few more sweatshirts into his bag before walking over to the bed.

She blinks innocently. "How?"

Puck laughs and puts his hands on either side of her head since she's laying down by the foot of the bed then bends down to kiss her upside down. Her arms wrap around his neck while his right hand moves into the top of her shirt, palming her breast. "I'm going to be late for my flight."

"You have time for something quick. I already figured it out."

"Your planning is kinda hot." He pulls off her shirt, leaning over to suck on one of her nipples. He loves the days when she doesn't wear a bra.

They walk hand in hand into LAX and move towards check in. Finn is already at the gate so they're trying to find the shortest line. They're late as it is because Rachel didn't plan on him wanting to go more than one time since he was leaving for two weeks. Photographers, well there's not that many, are taking pictures of them and how Puck is constantly keeping his arm around her or holding her hand. Once he's got his suitcase checked in, he moves them towards security securing his boarding pass into his back pocket until he needs it. They stand in line, arms wrapped around each other.

Rachel looks up at him and kisses his chin. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too Ray. Just sucks I won't be there for your audition."

"Me too. Make it up to me in Vegas." She winks and grins.

Puck laughs and moves to kiss her. She pushes her tongue into his mouth, tasting his cinnamon gum and moans. Someone taps his shoulder, so he pulls away from Rachel, frowning when she whines. "Yeah?" The man points at the gap in the line. "Oh, sorry." The guy just laughs and waves his hand dismissively. They move up and Rachel raises on her toes again to kiss him. "Baby, as much as I fucking love kissing you, I gotta go through security."

She sighs and kisses him one last time. "Call me when you land."

"Yes ma'am." He pecks her lips.

"I lo- 'll miss you." She moves out the way quickly and watches as he goes through. He eyes her curiously before grabbing a tray and emptying everything out of his pockets into it.

He turns and smirks when she blows him a kiss. Puck winks then starts to move quickly so he won't miss his flight. Walking onto the plane, he quickly spots Finn and moves to put his laptop bag into the overhead compartment.

"Took you long enough." Finn scrolls through his emails without looking up.

"Sorry man, Rachel's lips are addicting."

"I don't even know why I'm coming with you."

"Because you love coming on trips and working. Plus Sarah is taking care of your shit here that would've prevented you from going."

"Yeah whatever." He turns off his phone.

An hour into the flight, a stewardess is trying to flirt with Puck so he keeps asking for beer and pretzels to make her go away. They're both on their second beer and second bag of pretzels when Finn pulls out his laptop.

"So I spoke with your director the other day. I'm not really sure why he didn't talk to Holly, but whatever, I knew she probably wouldn't have come to me about it anyways. He says that the movie isn't getting as much attention as he wants. We need to talk to her about getting you on more shows to talk about it or something. I think they were interested in doing a press junket early then doing one after the trailer goes out. And I know they're working on a teaser trailer."

Puck leans back in his chair. "Dude, how did this become your problem?"

"Because I want you to get a lot of good shit because of this movie. And if they're not interested, that makes it my problem. Even if Holly doesn't want to do her job. I actually give a shit about your career. Then I have to worry about Mike's photography shots for the show and…" His voice trails off and Puck can really see how much shit he has to do. Finn pulls up an email and leans forward to read it.

"Why is Playboy emailing you?" He leans over to look at the email.

"Well I pretty much became the agent for Temptation and they've gotten a lot of attention this year. They want Brittany to be on the cover and do an article about being on the LFL." Finn pulls up his web chat to see if Mike is online, luckily he is, and tells him to get out the webcam.

"_What's up?_" Mike appears on screen and Brittany's hand waves.

"Hey, get Brittany on the screen. I gotta talk to her about something."

He eyes Finn carefully before pulling Brittany next to him. She smiles brightly on the screen. "_Hey guys! Wow, those seats look nice." _She tilts her head.

"Yeah, they're pretty comfortable. Anyways, Britt I got an email from Playboy and they want you on the cover. They want an interview too. You wanna do it?"

"_Playboy? Really?"_

"_Playboy…" _Mike gives Finn a cold look then looks at Brittany. _"Absolutely not."_

"_Why not?" _Brittany looks at him while Finn glances at Puck.

"_Because there are plenty of perverts who will take those pictures and use them for their fucking spank bank. No way." _

Puck leans into Finn's personal bubble and looks at Mike pointedly. "Dude, in case you forgot, she plays lingerie football. Guys are already using her pictures to jack it in their spare time. So really, what is the problem?"

"_And how would you feel if they wanted Rachel to do that?"_

"I get the real deal so who fucking cares?" He raises his eyebrow threateningly.

"_Mike, he's right. Finn I'd like to do it." _Brittany smiles then waves again before moving off camera, humming lightly.

"_You guys blow._" Mike signs off.

Finn laughs. "Alright, well at least that is taken care of."

"Is there anything I can get you gentlemen?" The stewardess leans over and tries to show off her rack.

"You guys got any sandwiches or something we can buy? I'm starving." Puck looks up at her eyes instead of her chest, smirking when she frowns.

"We'll be coming around shortly."

"Thanks." He smiles tightly and closes his eyes.

A few minutes later, someone pokes his shoulder and he opens his eyes, finding the stewardess smiling coyly at him. "What can I get for you?"

Puck looks at the cart and grabs a sandwich, salad, a bag of chips and a bottle of water then hands her his card. Finn looks over, points to a container with fruit in it and a bottle of water. "Just put his with mine." Finn goes back to typing away on his laptop while the woman hands them their food. She glares at Puck then moves on to the people sitting behind him.

* * *

><p>Rachel wakes up before the sun is even out, moving her way to the bathroom to get ready for her audition in San Diego. Her ticket from Disney is tucked into her purse, which means she didn't have to go through the first round with the producers, she'll just get to sing for the judges.<p>

Walking down the hall she notices that Brittany and Santana's bedroom lights are on, which she's guessing that they're getting ready too. She's got a bit of time so she takes extra care with her hair. Rachel packs some of her makeup so she can do touch-ups when she gets there. This will all be shown on TV, well she's not sure if her audition will be, but she's not going to risk looking bad.

After hours of waiting outside then about an hour inside, it's time for Brittany and Santana to hug her then she disappears. She walks into the room with the judges, with number 423195 pinned onto the front of her shirt. They sit down against the wall, pulling out their phones to call the appropriate people. Brittany has Mike and Sarah on her phone, (Sarah has Connor waiting to be called), Santana has papa Berries and Rachel's phone has Puck and Finn waiting. They just talked to Ryan about Rachel but he's now inside to listen to her sing.

"Is she in there? Can you hear her singing?" Puck is the only one talking.

"Not yet, they're probably asking her questions." Brittany moves to press her ear against the door.

"When they show this shit on TV it never seems to take this long." They hear Finn whispering in the background, followed by a thud. "Fuck off Hudson."

Santana sighs and leans her head back against the wall until they hear the beginning of 'Oh Darling.' Everyone pauses what they're doing and it becomes really quiet in the hallway. Rachel's voice is so powerful that they can hear it through the thick door. Even Puck is quiet on the line. From what they've heard, the person singing is stopped after a minute, but Rachel is moving on to sing the entire song.

When she's done, everyone in the hallway has their jaws dropped and whispering quietly to each other. The people on their phones are clapping and Puck's muffled 'holy shit.'

Rachel looks at the judges, biting her lip nervously. They're just staring at her. She fidgets and plays with the bottom of her jacket before Randy finally shakes his head.

"Wow! Rachel, that was absolutely amazing. We haven't heard a voice like yours all day."

She smiles brightly and looks at the other judges. Steven Tyler is just looking her up and down. "How can such a big voice come out of a small fucking person?" The camera men glare at him. "What I can't say that?"

Rachel giggles and looks at Jennifer Lopez in the middle. "I loved it. I think you could get really far in this competition and I would love to see you perform some more. So what do you guys think?" Both men smile and say yes. She smiles and looks at Rachel. "I guess you're going to Hollywood!"

She screams and runs up to them, hugging them individually. "Thank you so much!"

They all laugh and wave goodbye as she moves out the door. Brittany and Santana are holding their phones and looking at her. Rachel screams and hugs them both tightly. "I'M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!"

"OH MY GOD!" Brittany screams and drops her phone hugging her best friend tightly.

Santana laughs and she can hear all their friends cheering along with Rachel's parents. She hands Rachel her phone. "C'mon, I know you wanna talk to Puck."

"Noah?" She walks off towards the end of the hall.

"_Hey baby. You fucking rocked it." _

"Wait, you heard?"

"_Everyone could hear you babe. You've got a set of pipes." _

"This is so exciting! Then we have the championship game next week in Vegas and I get to see you again."

He chuckles on the other side of the phone. "_Yeah I know babe. I'm excited too. Look, I gotta get back on set but I'll talk to you later tonight." _

"Okay, bye Noah."

Santana and Brittany walk up to her and both hug her again. "I think it's time for dinner and some shopping for what you're going to wear on the show."

* * *

><p>On the last day that he's in Wilmington, Finn signed them up to get a tour of the studios to see the sets of other shows that are filmed there. He's got his aviators on and looking around at the different buildings while Finn types out an email to Sarah.<p>

"You must be Mr. Puckerman and Mr. Hudson." A man a little younger than them walks up to them. He's got dark shaved down hair, darker skin than Puck with jeans, converses and a hoodie on.

"Puck and that's Finn." He holds his hand out and they shake. The guy looks like he's sizing him up before turning around.

"Follow me, I'll take you to our most popular set first."

"He doesn't seem too happy to be showing us around." Finn slips his phone back into his pocket and looks around.

Puck just grunts and pulls his jacket on a bit tighter. He's not used to the cold ass weather anymore. Once they're inside he turns around.

"Now that we're out of the cold, my name is Matt Rutherford. I'm one of the producers here and they wanted me to show you around. Usually we have someone else do it, but they insisted. Now if you'll follow me." He motions towards one of the sets.

Finn stops and pulls Puck towards him. "Dude, that name sounds familiar."

"You're so paranoid, calm down and enjoy your dumb tour." He shoves him lightly and follows the guy.

At the end of the tour, Finn is in the bathroom while Puck texts Rachel. Matt is looking at him before he finally clears his throat.

"What?"

"So you're Noah Puckerman."

"Yeah, and?" He doesn't mean for it to come out as hostile as it does. Puck slips his phone into his pocket then looks at this guy. Now that he thinks about it, Finn is right. The name does sound familiar.

"You're dating my ex."

Shit. _That's_ why it sounds familiar. "Oh…" He says awkwardly and looks away. This guy could probably beat his ass if he really tried.

"Look, I'm not gonna stand here and act all pissed that you're with Rachel. If anything, you're lucky as hell. Don't fuck up like I did. The promotion is amazing, but I miss her. So fucking much."

"Don't plan on screwing things up with her. She's amazing."

"I know. And I've seen pictures of you two, don't give me that fucking look," He raises his eyebrow at Puck "and she's really happy with you. I've never seen her that happy when she was with me. The pressures of being in this industry is pretty high, but more so for an actor. Don't break her heart." With that he nods and walks away before looking over his shoulder. "Nice meeting you, big fan by the way." He grins and shoves his hands down into his pockets.

Finn walks out and sees Puck staring at the retreating figure. "Where's he going?"

"Probably home. You were right about his name sounding familiar."

"How?"

"Rachel's ex."

They both stare at him before Finn hits his shoulder. "Well why don't we go get our shit so we can get you to your girl early? They're already in Vegas."

"Fuck yeah." Puck grins and almost runs to the car.

* * *

><p>Rachel is standing by the baggage claim with Santana, looking towards where the arrivals are coming out of. She already pulled out both of their suitcases from the carousal. Suddenly she spots his red Ohio State sweatshirt and his aviators on top of his head, talking to Finn. Her smile brightens when he sees her and starts to walk over faster. She's not that far from him, a few feet at most but she jogs up to him and jumps up, wrapping her legs around his hips while kissing him.<p>

"Get a room, holy shit." Finn murmurs when he passes them only to be doing the same thing with Santana, she's just up on her toes with her arms around his neck.

Puck pulls her closer to his body, the best that he can, while massaging her tongue with his. A few claps can be heard before they pull apart and notice a bunch of military guys standing there with their seabags by their feet. One guy is 'whispering' to his friend "Is that Noah Puckerman?" He grins and sets Rachel down to go shake their hands.

"I have a good friend that's deploying soon and I just wanna say thanks for everything you guys do."

"Would you mind signing this?"

"No problem."

Rachel smiles as she watches him sign things and take pictures with the guys. Once he's done he salutes them and throws his arm over her shoulder. "You're amazing baby." She leans up to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks babe." He grabs his suitcase and follows Finn and Santana outside. "Shit, it's colder than I thought it would be."

"Where are you guys staying?" Santana looks at them as they get a cab.

"Hard Rock hotel tonight, Caesar's tomorrow night." Finn looks down at his phone to check their reservations.

"Are Mike and Sarah driving in tomorrow for the game?" Rachel leans against Puck and breathes in his cologne.

"Yep. Mike has the weekend off. We got a suite for all of us to stay at too for two days. Then back to work." He pulls Rachel into his side and kisses her temple.

"Britts is meeting us there. We can get dinner before we have to be back at our hotel. She wants to go to the Hard Rock Café."

"Cool." Puck rests his head against Rachel's and relaxes.

After dinner and catching up with everyone for the past two weeks, Puck convinces Rachel to come up to his room for a little bit since their 'curfew' wasn't around yet. Their friends went to the casino but he just needed some alone time with his girl. He's got her back pressed into the mattress, pressing kisses to her jaw up to her lips. She's kissing him back with all her heart but he drops his head onto her collar bone. "I'm so fucking tired."

Rachel laughs and strokes the back of his neck. "Why don't we take a nap? I'll tell Santana to come up and get me when they're ready to leave."

Puck nods and rolls onto his side, pulling Rachel against his chest and buries his face into her hair. He falls asleep almost instantly.

* * *

><p>The next day during halftime, their team is losing and all of them can see the frustration from the stands. Rachel is getting more aggressive when she's pushing women out of the way to catch the ball. Santana is trying too hard when she throws and everything gets off balance pretty quick. Finn has his face in his hands while bouncing his leg. Mike is just staring at the bouncing leg, thinking of ways he could get it to stop, possibly by snatching the fork from the woman behind him and stabbing it. Sarah is just staring at the field. Puck gets up and goes to get more beer, even though a few girls are stopping him to try and flirt. He smiles tightly barely containing himself from screaming for everyone to leave him the fuck alone.<p>

Rachel threads her fingers through her hair, ruining her pony tail but she just puts her face in her hands. The coaches are chewing them out and she swears she hasn't heard Will cuss this much since she started on the team. Santana is standing next to her, tapping her foot while Brittany is staying completely calm next to Tina.

"Get out on the field and warm up." Will moves out of the locker room. Shannon left minutes before because she couldn't stand to look at them anymore.

Puck sits back down and watches as they run out onto the field, starting to do warm-ups. He sees that Santana has her fingers in Rachel's pony tail and they're talking quietly to each other, foreheads touching together. The taller woman moves away and his girl is standing there looking extremely frustrated. Her hand wipes across her forehead before she joins the rest of her team. Puck is actually worried and he can't go to her.

The other team has the ball and both Brittany and Tina are playing defense. They're kicking the hell out of the other team, tackling them with no mercy. Mike looks like a crazy person cheering for Brittany and it actually has Puck laughing a bit, getting him in a better mood than he was a few minutes ago.

Brittany eyes the ball on the ground after Tina just sacked the quarterback, picks it up and she hauls complete ass to the end zone, even doing a victory dance now that the score is tied. She runs up to Santana and Rachel, smacking their asses and telling them to make her proud.

Santana focuses and notices that they only have a minute to make a miracle happen. Her eyes connect with Rachel's and they both nod. The ball is snapped, faking that she's going to pass it off until she sees her best friend, completely free at the end of the field in the end zone. Taking a deep breath, she throws it and watches as time slows down.

Puck, Sarah, Finn and Mike all stand up along with the rest of the Temptation fans, watching as the ball soars through the air until it lands in Rachel's arms with seconds to spare. She falls onto her back and throws the ball up in the air, pumping her fists. They all laugh and high five each other while the team runs down to the field and piles on top of her. The announcer comes on over the stadium, interrupting all the cheering.

"Your 2011 LFL Champions! LA TEMPTATION!"

Confetti canons are going off and little silver flashes litters the field and stands as they fall to the ground. The team is jumping and celebrating on the field while music plays. Puck is laughing until he sees Rachel running through the crowd in her uniform and pulling her pads off. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him thoroughly, causing the crowd to erupt even more. His tongue moves against hers and they're too busy making out until Rachel pulls away because someone is screaming her name.

"Looks like they need ya babe." He pecks her lips one more time.

"I'll be back, but we're partying tonight. Get ready."

She grins and picks up her pads before running back to slip on her championship shirt and hat to take the team picture. Artie is there and they let him have the rights to get the first picture. Will stands up and hands Brittany the game ball, making her MVP of the night. She throws her hands up in the air and points to Santana and Rachel.

Later that night they spend majority of the night walking up and down the strip, going into different casinos and settling on a restaurant to eat and celebrate their win. Sometimes Rachel, Santana and Brittany would get ahead of the rest of them, quietly singing 'we are the champions' while waving their championship hats around. Then they make it up to their suite, completely drunk and celebrating by drinking Patron. Sarah moves around, locking everyone in their rooms so no one goes out and gets married or do anything crazy.

* * *

><p>The next night, they're walking into the Palms to go to the nightclub there. The girls are all dressed up but disappear to the bathroom while the guys temporarily wait in line before they go on the red carpet to take pictures (thanks to Puck and Mike's celebrity status) then into the club.<p>

"We're smokin' hot." Santana smacks her lips in the mirror and admires her outfit.

"Seriously San, how can you fit in that corset top?" Rachel tilts her head at the cleavage that's showing in the light pink corset and her short frilly white skirt. Really, if Rachel was into the opposite sex, she'd probably be all over Santana right now.

"It just works Rach." She winks and leans against the counter.

Santana takes a minute to eye her friends. Brittany has her hair straight and grey high waisted shorts with ankle boots and a floral top, a little poof on top of her head. Rachel has on a barely covering the ass black lace skirt that is also high waisted and peach colored tank top that dips dangerously into her cleavage, her hair falling in curls and a little poof on top of her head too. She seriously has hot friends and not just the guys.

Sarah decided to stay in the suite, finishing up some work that Finn wanted her to do while she waited for Connor to call. No one really questioned her, especially since Puck didn't hear, so they told her that if they ended up doing something after the club that they would call.

Once they get inside the guys disperse to start a tab while the girls move out onto the dance floor. Rachel is grinding against Brittany and Santana is just doing her own thing, staring at Finn across the room. Puck and Mike have their VIP keys hanging around their necks, so that they can go up to the VIP lounge whenever they get spots Rachel and pulls her to him, handing her a drink then smoothes his hand down her back. He feels her shiver and he smirks.

"You look sexy baby." He whispers into her ear.

She smiles and sips her drink, grinding back onto him. Rachel looks at her friends, Brittany and Mike are having fun actually dancing along with everyone else so they can show off their moves. Santana and Finn are grabbing shots that are being walked around by waitresses. Rachel grabs one and knocks it back easily, knowing how turned on Puck gets from that action alone. She moves her arm up, circling around his neck.

He hears her giggling and looks down into her eyes when she turns to face him. "Has Finn always been a bad dancer?" Puck leans in to hear her better and all he really catches is 'been a bad dancer?' His eyebrows shoot up when he looks at her and she looks at him confused. Puck moves back down and she repeats the question, he grins and nods, watching her look over at Santana trying to move against him.

His hands move down her back until they find her ass, one venturing down lower until he's moving her skirt up. Her head drops back as she looks up to him, smiling coyly, until she turns around. Holy shit. He might as well be fucking her on the dance floor right now. His mind is filling with dirty thoughts of everywhere he could sneak her away to.

As if she read his mind, Rachel pulls his hand and moves up towards the VIP area.

They get their own little booth and Rachel drops the curtains while he pulls her back and presses her into the mini couch that's there. The vibration from the bass is moving through their bodies but he lowers his lips to her collar bone, licking the sweat off her body. He knows she's moaning even though he can't hear it through the music. Her hands cup his face so she can kiss him again and grind up into him.

She can feel his hand inching up her thigh, then he slides a finger over her folds under her panties. The vibration from the bass is making everything ten times more powerful than usual when they do anything sexual. They both have a pretty good buzz going on, so her head is swimming while he moves his fingers in and out of her.

"Noah!"

She arches into him, even though he can't hear her but he moves his lips over hers, silencing her moans even more as she squeezes his fingers. He pulls them out and sucks them clean while she pants underneath him. The music changes to "How to Love" so he helps her up and move out to the railing so they can look down at everyone. Puck cages her in, his arms on either side of her and holding her hands, letting them dangle over the railing while he kisses her neck and she's swaying with the music lightly. They're both looking down at their friends. Santana has her back against Finn's chest, his arms circling her hips with her arm circling around his neck and one of her hands laced with his. Both of them have content smiles on their faces. Rachel looks over to Brittany and Mike, their foreheads together while stealing little pecks and moving to the music. She leans her head against Puck's and he presses a kiss to her cheek.

When the verse with the lyrics saying 'you're beautiful' comes on, he leans down and kisses her ear. "I love you Rachel."

Rachel spins around quickly and looks up at him. She leans up and kisses him, saying the words against his lips then trails kisses up to his ear. "I love you too Noah."

Puck leads her down the steps and he moves to tell their friends that they're leaving.

Once they get into the suite and into their room, she moves over him and kisses him slowly while he undresses her. He's not used to going this slow but with Rachel, everything feels right. And if he dares to think it, perfect. She whispers 'I love you' again while she sinks onto him.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Finn and Santana get a rental car and leave to stay the night with her parents while the rest of them pile into Mike's car to head back to Vegas. Rachel is sitting in between Sarah and Puck, leaning on the latter to sleep on the way back. He pushes her hair out of her face and looks up at Mike in the rear view mirror.<p>

"Chicks." Mike laughs and looks over at Brittany then down at their joined hands.

Puck nods and looks down at his girlfriend, her hand fisted in his shirt right by his belly button. He kisses the top of her head then reaches over to push Sarah's hair off her face too. He's just glad he got out his iPod before Rachel fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Short and sweet :) Let me know what you guys think. The next chapter is almost done too. So I should be putting that up sometime this weekend. Hopefully. <em>

_Reviewer #150 will get something special also. They seriously mean so much to me._

_Check out my new story, it's called Baseball Jerseys and Pink Satin_


	14. Chapter 14

**Still don't own anything! Mistakes are mine.**

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><p>It's been a month since they won their championship game and three weeks since Puck finished filming his movie. Puck and Rachel have been stuck in their own little world since that night in the club in Vegas. They whisper goodbye to each other so no one heard that they realized their feelings for each other. She loves the time they spend together now that he's not busy filming all day and she doesn't have practices. He's been taking her out on dates and actually cooked dinner for her one night while Sarah went to Mike's <em>Dancing with the Stars<em> photo shoot. And now that he has free time, Rachel asked him to teach her the basics of playing the guitar. In her opinion, it's been the most perfect and relaxing three weeks of her life. And neither of them can deny that they love the slow, lazy sex they've been having ever since saying those three little words. In fact, Rachel has noticed that Puck cuddles just a little more with her or the way he likes to say the words in her ear right before she falls apart underneath him.

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><p>Rachel hums quietly while she looks up at the TV, trying to figure out how to assemble the foam she got for the fabric headboard she's in the process of making for her room. And since she's leaving for American Idol tomorrow, she figured she would spend the day redoing it like she had planned on doing for awhile, especially since Puck is at a photo shoot and Brittany is teaching at Mike's studio now. Santana's busy with Finn, trying to get her work with Bryan started. Sarah started up her online classes while still working with Finn and Connor is over in Afghanistan now, so everyone is completely busy.<p>

She eyes the TV and pauses it to look down at everything in front of her.

The front door opens and Puck walks in. The key on the top of the door frame disappeared since the guys were always at the condo at some point or another, so the girls just made them each their own copy for part of their Christmas presents. Brittany wanted to get ones with little skulls all over them, but Rachel and Santana decided on all straight black ones, bright pink one for Sarah and a blue one set aside for when Connor gets back. The guys decided that the girls should have keys to their apartments for any type of emergency, so the they each have three more keys than normal on theirs. Santana jingled hers around saying she felt like a janitor. That in itself made Lord Tubbington ecstatic when she wiggled them around for his little paws to try and catch.

He eyes the living room floor where Rachel is sitting. There's foam and a big piece of backer board in front of her. HGTV is paused up on the screen and he thinks he sees a can of paint, a paintbrush, her dresser, and the drawers out on the patio. All around on the furniture are pieces of fabric. What is she up to? He thinks back to see if he remembered any of them wanting to redo anything in the condo but he couldn't come up with a damn thing. He's sure that they would've asked him, Finn or Mike for help if that was the case.

"Noah! I didn't know you were done with the shoot for the day." Rachel looks over at the clock. "It's kind of early." She stands up and moves in front of him where he's perched on the arm of the couch.

Rachel leans into him and gives him a quick kiss. He looks down at the mess on the floor. "Yeah, we got done early. Whatcha doin' baby?"

"I decided I was going to redecorate my room before I left tomorrow. Brittany went down to the studio and Santana went to watch Bryan do something with some model. How was the photo shoot?" She sits back on the floor and starts to arrange foam on the board.

"It was fine. I had a meeting with Holly after since I'm not needed on the set till tomorrow for a meeting. But there's something I need to talk to you about." He rubs his hand over the back of his neck and sits down on the couch, pulling her towards him so she's sitting in between his legs but facing him at the same time.

"What's wrong?" She blinks her chocolate eyes up at him and his heart clenches. He's going to feel like such a dick. Her hand moves up his leg so she's holding his hand.

"The movie isn't getting enough attention. The director and Holly came up with a plan to help us out. They wanna start a relationship between some people in the movie." Rachel's face instantly pales. "They talked to Holly about me and Quinn."

"What?" She breathes out. "Quinn is a client of Holly's?"

He nods and licks his lips. Shit, he probably should've mentioned that way earlier before this. "He thinks it's a good idea if me and Quinn pretend to date."

She pulls her hand away and backs up a bit. "Why can't she do it with someone else? Like, I don't know, Eli or the producer? Someone else! _Anyone _else! Holly _knows_ you're in a relationship!" Her voice is growing louder.

"Look, I tried to explain it, but…He's my boss." He feels like that's a good enough explanation.

"Then go to him and explain harder!" She stands up and looks at Puck, her eyes threatening to spill with tears.

"Rachel, it's my job. It's not like I can just go up to him and say fuck you." Puck pulls her towards him, his hands settling on the back of her thighs. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm your girlfriend! You know how wrong this is." His head falls forward until his forehead is against her stomach. "I knew Holly didn't like me. She probably came up with you and Quinn before your director even thought about doing something like that. He's Quentin fucking Tarantino. How can it _not_ be getting attention?" Rachel walks towards her room, hating that she rambles when she's upset. This isn't even a side of her he's seen.

"Rachel, don't walk away from me." His voice is getting louder.

He walks into her room and there's a suitcase sitting next to her vanity on the floor filled with her clothes for the apartment she'll have to stay in starting tomorrow. The chair is filled with different products from the bathroom and clothes all over her floor near the closet. All of the clothes from the dresser are sitting next to the chair. The bed is in the middle of the room, part of the frame on the floor and the same swatches of fabric from the living room are tacked up on the wall. He sighs, seeing her shoulders shaking while she sits on the bed.

"What the fuck do you want me to do?"

She turns around and the sight of tears down her perfect cheeks breaks his heart. "I want you to tell him to find someone else to do it." Her voice is so small and weak. Far from his Rachel. "This isn't fair. Just because I'm leaving for the show means you can walk around and be with Quinn?"

"I don't know! I know it's not fair!" He yells, throwing up his hands. How can she not understand that this is his job. It's not like he wants to sacrifice his relationship.

"You said you loved me." She yells it at him and points her index finger at him. "I can see the headlines all over the magazines now." She motions her hand in the air in an arch like she's reading a news headline. "_Noah Puckerman is seen with costar Quinn Fabray while his girlfriend is on American Idol. Will things be ending for the couple now that they're apart?" _She wipes her cheeks. "Where does that even leave us? For her to announce that we broke up when I leave?" Her voice is becoming hysterical now. Rachel knows it's not good for her voice but she can't help it.

"I do, and we can still be together, just…not in public." The second those words come out of his mouth, he knows that he fucked up and closes his eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me Puck?" He flinches. Her beautiful brown eyes are now nearly black and flashing with anger. She points to the door. "Get out! We're over."

Rachel turns around, pulling her hands up to her mouth and starts to sob. At first he moves towards her, trying to hug her and tell her she doesn't mean it into her ear because this can't believe this is happening. But when she shrugs him off, he glares at the back of her head, hating the fact that she doesn't understand how big this movie is for his career. He walks out of her room and slams the front door. She flinches and looks around at her room. Abruptly, she stands up and runs to the bathroom, gathering all her things from there that she needs and throws them into the suitcase along with everything on her chair. Tossing some clothes onto the bed, she changes into skinny jeans, boots and a v neck shirt then pulls a sweatshirt over it all. She pulls her things into the living room, grabbing her phone charger and stuffing it into her purse. Tears are still falling down her cheeks as she surveys the living room. She wants to clean it all but she leaves the TV paused and ignores everything else. She pulls her suitcase out the door and runs down to her car, putting everything in the trunk and driving far away from anything involving LA.

This is the first time Rachel Berry is running away from anything.

Brittany and Santana walk through the door of their condo, laughing while Brittany explains something Mike did at the studio. Santana walks to the living room while the blonde grabs something from the fridge.

"Rach?" She looks around at the mess on the floor and the dresser on the patio. The TV is paused.

"She might be in her room with Puck. They were going to hang out tonight when he was done with the photo shoot." Brittany walks towards Rachel's bedroom and pushes open her door.

Santana follows when Brittany is just staring into the room. It's also a mess, her suitcase gone along with her phone charger but her laptop still in place on the shelf of her nightstand. She walks towards the bathroom and sees that all of her things are missing that she packed for the show.

"She's gone." Santana blinks at Brittany, starting to panic.

"But she's not leaving until the morning. We were going to have breakfast." The blonde shakes her head and pulls out her phone, dialing Puck's number. "Puck? Do you know where Rachel is?" She looks at Santana worried. "What do you mean she was here when you left? Why did you leave?"

Santana bites her lip and walks back out into the living room while Brittany hangs up with him. Rachel would never leave a mess. Where could she be?

"San? Puck says that we should go over to Finn's and he'll talk about what happened."

They run out of the door and pile into Brittany's car, heading towards the guys' building. When they get there, Mike and Finn are staring at Puck then back at the girls worried.

"What the fuck is going on?" Finn stands up and crosses his arms.

"I told her that Holly wants me and Quinn to pretend to date for the movie."

"You WHAT?" Santana yells and walks over angrily to him. "She's fucking missing! And she leaves tomorrow and we don't know how long it'll be before we fucking see her again." She pushes Puck's chest where he's sitting on the coffee table before Finn pulls Santana against his chest, holding her tight so she doesn't hit Puck again.

"She wanted me to go to the director and talk to him about getting it changed. But I can't do that. It's not that fucking easy." Puck shakes his head like they're all stupid for thinking he can just tell his boss he doesn't want to do it.

"Yes it is!" Santana throws her arms up in the air and moves into his face, looking into his eyes. "She's your girlfriend and I can tell that you fucking love her." Santana turns into Finn's arms. No one knows that they've already exchanged their 'I love yous', not that it means anything now.

"She won't answer her phone." Brittany says quietly from the door. They all look to her. "I've called at least ten times since we got here. It's going straight to voicemail." Mike walks over to her and pulls her into his arms.

Puck sits on the floor, putting his face in his hands. "I have to do this. You guys don't understand. Even if I do love Rachel, I have to do this."

"Dude…" Finn says in a warning tone, quickly to be cut off.

"Don't you get it?" Brittany says defeated. "They did this because they knew that you wouldn't say no _because_ it _is_ your job. Holly hates Rachel. Quinn hates Rachel. They had this planned to fuck with your head. Congratulations." Tears are falling down her cheeks and it makes Puck feel even worse, "You did it and now my best friend is missing before she has to go compete for a fucking record label. You fucked up big time. But even if you are 'dating' Quinn." She used air quotations, "Every time we go to support her, you're going to go to and have to deal with the torture of watching her get her dreams. I don't give a shit what you say." Brittany pulls out of Mike's arms and runs down the hall to Finn's room.

Santana runs after Brittany, quietly closing the door and locking it so she can lay with her friend. They try to call Rachel again, then call her dads to see if she might have gone to them since they rented an apartment in LA so they could go cheer her on. But when they say no and ask what's going on, Santana tries to explain.

Mike and Finn sit on the couch, staring at their best friend and wondering how well everything is going to go the next few weeks.

"You guys understand don't you?" Puck looks up at them with worried eyes.

"No, I honestly don't." Mike glares at the man in front of him.

"I do." Finn looks between them. "The last thing he needs is to piss off his director and have them talk to a whole shit load of people in the business about how Puck isn't cooperative or some shit. Neither of us can afford that."

"You fucking kidding me?" Mike stands up and stares at his friends. "This is Rachel. _Rachel Berry_. She's the glue holding us all together. Making sure we all eat together instead of breaking off into couples all the time and now she's going to be gone for who knows how fucking long. God you two are dumbasses. If he loves her, nothing else should matter."

Finn is about to speak when there's a knock at the door. He stands up and shoves past Mike. He opens the door while Mike is glaring at Puck. "What are you doing here?"

Their eyes snap over, only to see Quinn in the door. "I knocked on Puck's door and when I got no answer, I assumed everyone was over here." She smiles and walks into the apartment. Finn is looking from her to his bedroom.

Mike can feel that something bad is about to happen. He's just waiting for what it might be.

Puck clears his throat and looks up to Quinn. "What'd you need?"

"Holly wants to meet with us silly. She has a reservation for us." She looks down at her watch. "In two hours."

Santana opens the bedroom door. "No Britts, that can't be Quinn. Would she really show her face around here?" She walks down the hall with Brittany hot on her heels.

"San…" Brittany says worriedly. Santana turns around and looks at her oddly, but Brittany is looking past her at the blonde in the living room.

"Hello ladies." Quinn waves.

Mike starts to back towards the hallway slowly. "Heey guys."

"You…" Santana glares at Quinn.

She looks around at everyone and Puck starts to slowly stand up. Finn inches his way towards Santana, his hand reaching out for her arm.

"Yes?" She says innocently and scrunches her eyebrows together.

"Um Finn…" Brittany looks at him worriedly.

That's the exact second chaos starts.

Santana lunges at Quinn, knocking her over on the ground, straddling the blonde's hips and trying to get her hands around her neck. Quinn puts her arms up, managing to get her purse off and manages to hit Santana with it in the head. "You slut." Santana freezes and grabs the woman's wrists in front of her in one hand while pulling her hair with the other.

"Get off me you crazy bitch!" Quinn gets her leg up and kicks Santana off of her using her heel.

Santana falls over and grabs her stomach. "Fuck!"

Quinn jumps up, tossing her purse to the side and smoothes down her hair. She turns towards Puck. "You need to control your friends."

"I.." He looks over to Santana who has gotten up and walks over to pull the blonde's hair and throws her to the couch. He's too in shock to do anything. Which seems to be everyone at the moment.

Brittany watches as Quinn rolls over the couch and kicks Santana's knee. "What is wrong with you?" She yells and charges over to the couch and pushes at her shoulders. Quinn starts to push back until Brittany is slammed up against the wall. "San!"

The Latina shakily stands up and pulls Quinn towards her chest while Brittany pushes at her. The blonde in the middle starts to scratch at Brittany's arms and chest. She kicks Quinn's shin and shoves her to the side. They're all trying to catch their breath when there's a knock at the door. Santana limps over to answer it but Quinn gets up and charges her, knocking her over and Santana's head hits the floor with a loud thud. The door flies open and all the guys snap over to see a tall black man and a bit shorter white man run in.

"Santana!" Both men move to pull the girls apart, Quinn kicking anything she can reach on the other girl. Brittany runs over to Mike and clings on to him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Nathan yells out. "Santana, sweetheart." He runs his hand down her face.

"Why are you touching my girlfriend?" Finn walks over to pull Santana out of this man's arms.

"Why don't you tell me where the hell my daughter is?" He looks at him and Finn stops in his tracks, his eyes wide. He looks over to Puck, who looks like he's about to pass out or two seconds away from starting to hyperventilate.

Allen gently pushes Quinn away from him, she stumbles towards Puck but he doesn't make a move to catch her. Allen holds his arms out to Brittany. "What happened to your arms?"

She looks over to the other blonde who is standing next to Puck with her arms crossed and bruises forming on them. "I'm fine Allen."

Santana moans and leans her head against Nathan's chest. "We don't know where she is papa Berries. We thought she would go to you and her phone is going straight to voicemail."

"San, baby." Finn strokes her forehead. "We need to take you to the hospital. You hit your head really hard."

"Puck, get her out of here. I don't want to see her face. And I really don't care to see you for awhile too." Mike holds Brittany's hand.

"Quinn, go out in the hall." She looks at Puck like he's crazy. "Go out into the fucking hall and get into your car! Tell Holly we can reschedule her precious meeting." He yells and she flinches, grabbing her purse and pushing her way through all the people. "I'm going to the hospital, don't even try to tell me I'm not allowed."

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><p>Rachel walks into the room of her hotel, leaving her suitcase by the bed as she collapses onto it and just cries until it turns dark outside. Around six she opens the menu for room service and tries to decide on something to eat. All the crying has messed up her vocal chords and she's not sure what they'll be doing tomorrow if they do anything at all. She decides on soup and hot tea with honey before she collapses on her bed again.<p>

Her cell phone has been vibrating non-stop. Calls from Brittany, Santana, Mike, her dads, and eventually from Puck. The ones from him are coming nearly every five seconds.

Her phone chirps with a message and she looks down.

_Brittany: We're at the hospital. San got into a fight with Quinn when she showed up at Finn's. She's got a mild concussion, please come see us._

She smiles sadly, but it won't be safe to go there. Puck will be there. Rachel sighs and when she opens the door to get her food, the teenager in front of her just looks at her with a sympathetic face. She scowls at him and hands him a five just so he'll get out of her face. While she's eating, she gets another message.

_Noah: Ray, please answer the phone. _

Pushing it to the side, she hugs a pillow to her chest and feels the fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.

Later that night, she walks into the hospital where Brittany said she would be. Luckily, everyone is asleep, so she walks into the room, seeing Brittany laying with her head down by Santana's feet. Mike is asleep by the window and her dads are sitting against the wall asleep with Finn and Puck next to them. Sarah is laying across the floor with her head on Puck's lap. She tiptoes over to the bed and smoothes Santana's hair away from her face. There's a small bruise forming on her right cheek and she looks over to Brittany, seeing the scratch marks on her arms. The Latina stirs, whimpering slightly. Brittany wakes up and looks over, seeing Rachel.

Rachel pulls a finger to her lips, telling her to be quiet since she doesn't want any of the men to wake up and see her there. She walks over and wraps Rachel in her arms while everyone sleeps.

"Are you okay?"

"Can we go out in the hallway to talk?" She whispers. The blonde nods her head and they leave, closing the door slightly. "I'm so sorry she got hurt. That you got hurt." She breaks down and starts to cry again.

"Rach, that's not good for your voice." Brittany hugs her and they both slide down to the floor. "Puck told us what happened. I'm pretty sure the group is going to be divided for awhile."

"Why?"

"Finn understands where Puck is coming from. Mike said that he won't want to see Puck for awhile and probably Finn too. Santana is furious so she'll be with Mike and I. But I'll have her when he gets busy for his show next week and he's gone all the time. We'll all go and support you both though. No need to worry Rachel." She strokes the curly hair on Rachel's head. "He's been calling you non-stop."

"I know, but I just can't talk to him. You should've heard what he said."

Brittany looks at her confused. "He hasn't told us anything really about the fight you two had. What happened?"

"He said we could still be together, just not in public."

"Rachel…don't you..." She quickly gets cut off.

"I have to go soon. I can't risk them knowing I'm here. Puck will just want to talk and I can't." She looks up at her friend with sad eyes. "Will you tell Santana I love her? My dads too?"

"Of course." Brittany helps her up and kisses her forehead. "We'll see you soon." She smiles weakly.

"I love you Britt." She hugs her friend then walks down the hallway towards the exit.

"Love you too Rach." Brittany watches her friend walk away before she enters the room again. She crawls into bed with Santana and holds her hand, finally crying and getting all her frustration out.

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><p>Sarah sits on the couch with her laptop open on the coffee table with Connor staring at her with a headset on. "Rachel and Noah broke up."<p>

His eyes widen as he stares at her. "WHAT?" He halfway yells and he looks around when some of the other guys tell him to shut up.

"Yeah. It was really bad. And when they were all at Finn's while I was taking a test, Quinn showed up and got in a fight with San. They ended up taking her to the hospital and she's still there so they can make sure she doesn't have a concussion still. And Brittany has scratches all over her arms."

"So Puck and Rachel are just…over?" He looks over his shoulder when someone pushes in a chair roughly. He leans over, his dog tags hanging over his olive green shirt. She can't help but stare at his muscles.

"That's what everyone is saying. She just disappeared last night and no one can get in touch with her. At least we'll know where she is tonight since all the contestants have to meet up." Sarah runs her hand through her hair. "And Noah just looked miserable and guilty but he didn't try to really explain anything other than him supposedly dating Quinn for publicity. This is all such a huge mess."

"Shit." He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. It's night time there and she can tell how tired he is. "I wish I could talk to Rachel. She must be heartbroken."

"She'll probably write you soon. Brittany said all her stationary was gone but her laptop was still there. I see Noah's side though. He doesn't want to get a bad rep in the business and I can't blame him. I would've done the same thing."

"Yeah, but he fucking loves that girl, I can see it by the way he looks at her. The money or anything like that shouldn't matter. If I had a sister, I could see her being exactly like Rachel with how my family is." He rubs his eyes then crosses his arms again, trying to ignore that she'd do the exact same thing as her brother.

Sarah can't stand to think about them choosing sides over who's right and who isn't. "Are you okay over there?"

He nods. "Yeah, but we haven't even been here that long." Connor sighs. "When does Mike start his show?"

"They start the training next week and they'll do that for two weeks before opening night. I think we're going."

"Sounds…fun." He grins then yawns. "Who's his partner?"

"Chelsea Kane."

Connor makes a face. "Who is she?"

"She was on the Disney channel. I used to watch her." She laughs and looks down embarrassed.

"That's cute." She looks up and sees that he isn't trying to be mean or anything. "You look beautiful."

Sarah blushes. "Thank you. But you look so tired." She frowns but then screams when there's a loud explosion in the background.

A man pokes his head into the door behind him. _"Hawthorne! We're moving out, get your shit!" _

"Sorry sweetheart, I gotta go. We'll talk soon."

Puck walks through the door and sees Connor on the screen before it goes black. Sarah looks over with tears in her eyes. He moves over to her quickly and hugs her. "What's wrong?"

"I just heard an explosion behind him and then he had to leave." She leans against her brother and cries against his chest, until he lays down and pulls her with him. "Noah?"

"Yeah?" He strokes his sister's hair.

"Would you be mad if I said I kissed Connor?" Sarah feels him tense underneath her but he relaxes and strokes her hair again.

If he was honest, he'd think that he's supposed to yell at her and say that he's an awful match for her. But Connor really balances her out. She's even starting some online classes thanks to him standing up to her. He's a good man, but the other thing he's worried about is him deploying. "No, I wouldn't be mad."

"Really?" She looks up at him, tears swimming in her eyes.

"Yep. Just know about everything you have to worry about dating someone in the military. Connor's a good guy."

"I know." She smiles and curls up against her brother. No matter how much she likes Rachel, she'll always be on her brother's side because he takes such good care of her.

Puck rubs her back until she falls asleep and he's 90% sure that Sarah told Connor about what's going on. He thinks about the words Matt said to him after their tour in North Carolina since Connor loves Rachel like a sister. But then that's when he realizes that he was exactly like Matt, except worse. Not only did he give her up because of work just like Matt, he did it all for a fake relationship when he could've just said he wasn't comfortable with it and been perfectly fine, having the girl he loves in his arms.

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><p>Rachel is sitting on her bed in the apartment she's sharing with a few other contestants, watching her roommate look at celebrity gossip online. She's wondering how long it'll be until she sees something about Puck on the screen.<p>

A guy walks by the door, holding a GQ magazine with a familiar pair of hazel green eyes on it. Rachel gets off her bed and runs down the hallway and into the room the man disappeared into.

"Is that the newest GQ?" She says out a little breathlessly.

The guy laughs. "Yeah, why?" He pulls the suitcase up onto the bed and unzips it.

"Can I see it?"

He looks down at the magazine then back to her. "Sure. Name's Blaine." He holds out his hand once she takes the magazine.

She shakes it and sits on the bed, staring down at it. Her fingers tips trace over his lips on the cover while she bites her own. He's got an eyebrow cocked and a long sleeve white button up dress shirt on, his hands are adjusting a black loosened tie with a little smirk that she misses and he's got some scruff on his chin and jaw line. Rachel flips to the interview and the first picture is him sitting against a golden couch, his tie is loosened with his hands tucked into the pocket and he's just looking at the camera. No smile. Nothing. His eyes are expressive enough.

The next page he's sitting on the floor in front of an antique dresser with his guitar on his lap, his left hand rubbing the back of his head and a leather jacket on. She can feel the tears forming in her eyes while Blaine unpacks his clothes into the dresser. The next page, she sees him propped up on his left arm in a red plaid button up and a white shirt underneath with jeans on in a field.

Turning back to the front page of the article she carefully reads the interview. He mostly talks about working on set and his new movie that's coming out or if he has any feelers for any new projects. There's a little bit about him playing guitar until she sees something about a girlfriend. Her stomach turns a bit before moving on.

_**GQ:** We heard that you're dating an LFL Player. What's that like?  
><strong>NP:<strong> It's great actually. Usually most girls just don't care about sports. You can come home, turn on ESPN and they just want nothing to do with it. Since she plays football, Rachel is really interested in watching the games and looking at their technique.  
><strong>GQ:<strong> That's kind of weird. Technique?  
><strong>NP:<strong> Don't call my girl weird. (He laughs) And yeah, technique. Like the way the quarter back and wide receiver interact with each other. Anyways. It's the LFL and I love seeing her play. She's amazing at it.  
><strong>GQ:<strong> You've been known to be a bit of a player. She must be pretty special for you to be with her for, how long has it been now?  
><strong>NP:<strong> About six months. And she's very special, I haven't meant any girl that's like her._

She finishes the rest of the article that asks him about personal things that she already knows about. Tears are streaming down her cheeks and she drops the magazine into her lap, swiping furiously at her cheeks. Blaine turns around and instantly kneels down in front of her.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"My idiot ex boyfriend." She motions down to the magazine. His lips form a small 'o.'

"Shit, I'm sorry. Rachel right?" She nods. "Look, I'm sure he'll realize that he screwed up."

"He said in this stupid interview that I was special, but he can just throw me away for his job? Wanting to keep me hidden in the background while he promotes his new movie?" She sniffles and buries her head in her hands. The bed shifts beside her and he rubs her back, saying 'shh' soothingly.

Blaine pulls her into his arms, hugging her tight while she spills the entire story. When she's finally done he rubs her back, he can tell that she feels better now that she just got it all out. "C'mon, I'll help you unpack then you can get some sleep since we have to do a photo shoot tomorrow. You can keep the magazine if you want."

"Thank you. I know this is just going to upset me but I'm going to use it as motivation to win this damn thing."

"I'm your competition, but I've been hearing some of the other contestants whisper about your audition. We should stick together. I can really see you in the top finalists if what they say about your voice is true. Plus it's always good to have a friend every now and then."

"I'd love that." She lets out a watery laugh and picks up the magazine, walking back to her room.

The blonde smiles when they enter the room and stands up to shake Blaine's hand. "Hey, I'm Holly Holiday." Rachel cringes at her first name. And her bright blonde hair reminds her of Quinn. It's like they've morphed together and found some talent to haunt her here too.

From what she's known of the woman since she's been here though, she's nothing like the two bitches that broke up her relationship. This Holly is actually kind and funny, she reminds Rachel of Brittany sometimes. She can actually see her time here being fun instead of completely miserable because her heart is breaking every time she glances at the cover of that magazine.

* * *

><p>Puck is sitting at a table with Finn, Holly, Quinn, his director and producer while they discuss how this relationship could get them a lot of great publicity. Holly is going on and on about how they could book talk shows together.<p>

"The People's Choice Awards are coming up. Maybe they could present a teaser trailer for the movie and of course they'd walk the red carpet together." She smiles at Quinn and writes down a few more ideas while the director and producer talk about if they could have something made up in time for that.

Finn looks over at his best friend, staring at the table in front of him and not really caring about what's going on. "Can I talk to Puck out in the hall for a minute?" They all look at him oddly before nodding. He grabs his friend by the collar and pulls him into the hall. Once the door is shut he glares at Puck. "I've worked too damn hard for you and your career for you to screw this up now, so you gotta start paying fucking attention at this meeting."

"The fuck for Finn? All I have to do is go where they fucking tell me to. It's not like I'm in the best damn mood for this meeting in the first place."

"Then at least act like you care about your damn job man. Your boss is eyeing you, seeing if you're really into this." Actually Finn can tell that the man just looks worried about Puck, because he looks like shit today. But if lying to him a bit will get his ass into gear, he'll do it. "You're acting like you don't care about the movie. That looks bad on both of us. You agreed to this. You told Rachel about all of it and she broke it off. If she can't handle your job then maybe it's a good thing it's over." He's not lying about that part though.

Puck pushes him up against the wall. "Don't fucking say that about her. And you better not say shit like that around Santana or else you won't have a girl either." He pushes him with a little more force then disappears back into the room.

Quinn eyes them both when they sit down before she reaches over and squeezes Puck's hand. His jaw clenches but he smiles tightly at everyone, nodding at what Holly is talking about. She notices that he looks exhausted with bags forming under his eyes and she can't help but feel a tiny bit guilty. Then Holly looks at her with the happiest smile she's seen in awhile and she smiles back, knowing her best friend is happy. That's what really matters.

* * *

><p><em>Don't hate me! <em>_I just hope you guys will still stick with me. I had this planned for chapters now. I've been a nervous wreck about posting this, so I'm sorry for bursting the happy Puck/Rachel bubble.  
><em>

_Also, I picked Chelsea Kane because when she was on the show, I could see Mike doing the choreography Mark Ballas did. So if you haven't seen any of them, go look them up on YouTube, mostly the jive. Definitely don't own any of that. Lastly, the pictures described in the GQ magazine, are ones Mark has actually done. The last two, just imagine him with no mohawk. - Gotta give lots of credit during this, and I def don't own any of it other than the story idea._

_SiReN-pRiNcEsS1__ – You're #150 on my reviews, so PM me and we'll figure something out!_


	15. Chapter 15

**32 reviews. Wow. That's the most I've gotten from a chapter so far! I tried to respond to all the first time reviews I've gotten, but to everyone who has reviewed pretty much every chapter, thank you guys, so much. Really. All of you! And to the ones that I can't reply to. I hope you like this chapter, I'll understand if ya don't. Promise. **

**Still don't own anything.  
><strong>

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><p>Three weeks later, Brittany is standing in the locker room on a college campus working on the photo shoot for her article. Every now and then between poses, she steals glances towards her friend, who seems to be constantly pacing around instead of watching like she usually would since it <em>does<em> involve photography. But Santana is absolutely livid that she's near Finn because later that night when she, Brittany and Mike were eating dinner after getting back from the hospital, Mike accidentally blurted out what her boyfriend thought about the Puck/Rachel situation. Basically, Santana wasn't too happy about it.

Every few minutes he walks over to try and talk to her but the Latina just moves to a different part of the studio, looking interested in something she otherwise wouldn't give a shit about.

"Santana, would you please talk to me?"

He's on the verge of whining and she's not having any of it. "Finn, the only thing I will talk to you about is anything regarding Britts, Mike or my job with Bryan. Other than that, leave me alone until I'm ready to fucking talk to you." She moves towards the bathroom, hoping for five minutes to regain her sanity.

Brittany sits in the makeup chair while they fix some curls in her hair. Finn walks over and sits in the chair next to her, pouting. "Finn, frowning like that isn't going to make her talk to you any time soon."

"I don't understand, why is she so mad at me?" He turns towards her and tries to look into her eyes.

She's not going to sell out her boyfriend, but she turns the best that she can to look at him. "She's stubborn Finn and this whole thing with Rachel is completely throwing her off. Rachel, her dads and I are basically the family that San wishes she had. Her parents were always busy with work when she was growing up, still that way now, and her sister just doesn't care. San holds grudges. The sooner you learn that, the better, so that you avoid pissing her off."

"I understand that she's stubborn as hell, but what grudge is she holding that deals with me? I'm just doing my job to make sure Puck looks good."

"No Finn," She snaps, "That's what you don't get. That is Holly's job. You get him jobs. She's the one who's supposed to make sure that he's maintaining a good image, but she's not exactly doing that is she? Do you honestly think that him dating Quinn is going to be good?" He nods slowly. Brittany rolls her eyes. "How is it going to look when Rachel has been gone for weeks and he's suddenly dating someone else? He's going to look like a cheater, especially when no one can question Rachel about it. Maybe instead of being his agent, you should be his best friend and advise him to fire Holly."

Santana comes back out and narrows her eyes at Finn when he's about to talk to Brittany. He sighs and moves across the studio and leans against a wall, not talking to either of them until it's time to leave. Even then, the ride home is really awkward.

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><p>Puck wipes some sweat off his forehead and looks over at Quinn running on the treadmill. She's got her headphones in her ears but it just pisses him off for some reason. He turns towards the punching bag and turns his music up more, effectively drowning out anything he can hear in the gym. His fists move against it and he's really glad that he thought about taping them up or else his knuckles would be split and bleeding after just a few punches. Puck does one more hard punch before he feels someone touching his shoulder. Automatically he flinches and turns around, only to see Quinn jump back.<p>

"Jesus Quinn." He pulls off his headphones and uses the towel that she holds out.

"I called your name but you couldn't hear me." She shrugs. "Are you okay?"

"Fucking dandy. You ready to go?" She nods. "C'mon."

He leads the way out and tosses the towel into a hamper nearby. She reaches for his hand as he pushes his aviators down and pulls out his keys. Puck's practically dragging her to his car and ignoring any photographers that are around, he's actually thankful that there's not that many.

When they get back to his apartment he moves to the couch after grabbing a bottle of water and puts his head in his hands. All he wants to do is pass out and sleep for days, but he can't. Every night for the first two weeks Rachel was gone, he would wake up after two hours of sleep, then send a text message to Rachel, just hoping she'd reply. But this past week, he's given up and just turns on the TV until his alarm goes off. Finn, Sarah and Quinn, occasionally Holly, are the only ones who notice the bags under his eyes, mostly because they're all he's seen the past few weeks. Even though they're supposed to get together to watch Rachel on TV. That hasn't happened since she started the show.

Quinn sits down beside him and chews on her bottom lip. It's not as cute as when Rachel does it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope." He picks up the remote and turns it on. Puck doesn't really care what's on, but he throws the remote onto the coffee table and drains the rest of his water.

She moves closer to him and sets her hand on his cheek. He looks over at her and furrows his brows. Her eyes drop down to his lips and she moves in, setting them onto his. Quinn can tell he's hesitating so she moves hers and licks his top lip. Puck starts to kiss her back until they're interrupted by his phone chirping. He quickly moves away and wipes his lips, picking up his phone.

"Hey, it's Connor." He looks at her from the corner of his eye and she nods. "You can take a shower or something." She gets the hint and moves to grab her bag then heads to the bathroom. He pulls over his laptop and opens up his webchat to see Connor sitting there glaring at him. "Sup?"

His friend just stares at him for a few seconds. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, nice to see you too man." Puck leans back and rubs his eyes. He probably feels just as bad as he looks, if not worse. Especially since he just kissed Quinn back.

"What's the deal with you and Rach?"

He groans. Of course he would ask. "I fucked up, what else is there to say? But my job is important."

"I get that your job is important but so is she."

"Dude, I really don't want to talk about this right now." Connor shrugs. "Kiss any girls lately?" He spits back out smugly.

Connor pales and stares at Puck. "Look…Puck…"

Puck laughs. "As much as I'd love to give you all sorts of shit about this right now, I'm just not in the mood. It's fine man. She talked to me about it."

"Oh, shit, you almost gave me a heart attack." He leans back in his seat and Connor nods. "So you're fine with us being, well whatever the hell we are right now."

"Yeah, just man up when you get back and take her out."

"Yeah, alright. So what's new over there?"

"Not a damn thing. Got Mike's dance thing next week."

They talk for about twenty minutes about anything and everything. It completely amazes him how much better he feels than he has the past few weeks.

* * *

><p>Rachel walks out to the car that is supposed to take her shopping, now that it's the top 12. With that being said, they get to go buy outfits for the group number, their individual performance and the results show. They can even go to the salon if they want to. She opens the door and sees a well dressed man with perfectly styled hair and light skin.<p>

"Oh good Lord, what are you wearing?" He sets his hand over his heart, like she's seriously offended him. She's just in shorts and a shirt.

She tugs down her sunglasses so he can't see her eyes rolling. "I wasn't aware that I needed to be dressed up."

"Sweetie, you should always look good."

"Are you implying that I look terrible?" She pulls her sunglasses off and stares at him while the driver pulls out into traffic.

"Well…" He shrugs.

"Excuse me!" She huffs. "I am very sorry that I am under a lot of stress and I'm dealing with a breakup."

"You're _that_ Rachel Berry?" His eyes widen.

"What are you talking about?" There's no other Rachel Berry's on the show is there? Because if there is, maybe she needs to meet this person.

"I'm Kurt Hummel. Finn Hudson's step brother. And you're Puck's girlfriend." He smiles and tilts his head, looking her up and down.

"Ex-girlfriend." She mutters and sinks back into her seat, looking out the window.

"Right." He shifts nervously.

"So you're my stylist?"

"Yes! I've had this little thing going for the past two years, but don't worry. We'll make you look fabulous and Puck will be slapped in the face with what he's missing."

"Thank you Kurt." She plays with the hem of her shorts. "Is he doing okay?"

Kurt hesitates and moves his body towards her. "I haven't really heard from him but Finn seems a bit worried that he's not sleeping. Plus he's with that awful woman."

"Which one?"

He looks at her confused. "Quinn."

"Holly's a bitch too."

"Hmm, she is. I have a feeling we'll be getting along fabulously." He turns to the driver. "Salon last." Kurt turns back to Rachel. "I have a plan to make you completely irresistible." He grins.

* * *

><p>Rachel turns on the TV while a few contestants from her apartment are with coaches practicing their songs. It's premiere night for Mike and she really wants to support him, but this is the only way that she can. Blaine sits next to her and throws his arm up on the back of the couch.<p>

"What are we watching?"

"You know Mike is performing tonight." She pushes at his side and sees her friend walking down the steps in a tux, smiling at the camera with his partner's arm looped through his.

They're the first couple up and she can't help but laugh and falls against Blaine when they're showing the video of them rehearsing. They do have great chemistry, but in a goofy, friend sort of way. They start the dance and she can hear Brittany and Santana instantly cheering for them. When they're done judging (all good things) and move to get their scores, he high fives Santana and squeezes Brittany's hand. His partner squeezes Santana's hands, but she can see Puck in a suit with Quinn next to him and her heart sinks. But she can see how the group is divided with Sarah sitting between Santana and Finn. She feels awful that San is ignoring her boyfriend because of her. And Mike didn't acknowledge anyone but her best friends.

"She looks like a slut." Blaine looks at her with his eyebrow quirked up.

"You're insane. She looks beautiful." But she's smiling and leans into him more, thinking of the image of Quinn in a beautiful dress next to Puck.

They watch the rest of it and at the end, she runs around to the other contestants and tell them to vote for Mike. They agree because they know the guy is really important to her, and you know, good.

* * *

><p>The day of her performance, she's really, no extremely nervous. Top 12 is a big deal. Mike sent her a text message saying he can't make it but he's got the other dancers voting for her. She hasn't really responded to anyone since she's been here, but she tells him thank you and is actually smiling for the first time all day since her rehearsal earlier with a different audience than who will be in the live crowd.<p>

Rachel moves to hair and makeup, finding Kurt there and he's already got a plan to match the outfit they picked out. He's talking on and on about different eyeshadow to the stylist. This week's theme is the Beatles and she really loves the song she picked out. It's actually her dad's favorite song by them. In all actuality, they (her family, Brittany, Santana and whomever else) will probably find a way to think she's trying to send a message about her relationship with Puck but she's not.

While she was in her own little world, they finish her hair and Blaine walks over, kisses her cheek then hugs her. Kurt watches with an amused expression on his face. She's just glad to have two people here who are truly nice to her. Besides Holly, but she's still kind of freaked out by the whole name and hair thing.

"Nervous?"

She laughs a bit and looks down. "A bit, you?"

"Hell no. I get to sing an awesome song."

"What'd you pick again?" Rachel looks into the mirror and smiles at her hair, fingering the curls as she tilts her head.

"Eleanor Rigby." He grins.

"You'll sound great, it suits your voice. The group number will be fun." She winks and they make their way to the stage.

Puck sits down on his couch with Sarah at the other end and Finn on the armchair. That dude Ryan introduces the group and the guys are on stage, singing 'Something in the Way She Moves.' Sarah glances at him but he just puts his feet up on the table while his left eye twitches. Next, it moves to Rachel and the guitar is quiet. But he notices her hair is at _least_ a few shades lighter and shorter, it's curled and stops at her collarbone. She's got on dark jeans and low cut white shirt with boots on. And he's aching to touch her.

But then she sings and she's looking at the camera, singing the opening lines of 'All My Loving.' "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you." For some reason, he does close his eyes. He doesn't really need to see her singing, but he just wants to listen. "Tomorrow I'll miss you. Remember I'll always be true, and while I'm away, I'll write home every day and I'll send all my loving to you." He opens his eyes and the camera moves to the next contestant but his chest is aching. Did the producers deliberately pick songs that would bother him? Then it moves into 'I've Just Seen a Face' and he groans, leaning back into the couch.

Finn looks at Puck then back at the screen. He may not be upset like Puck is, but Santana is still refusing to talk to him. It's been a week and a half (or something like that, he's so busy he can't remember) since the photo shoot and he's going insane. They get a glance of Rachel's dads, Brittany and Santana before it goes to a commercial break.

Sarah stands up to grab beers. From the look on their faces, she has a feeling they'll need them. She looks down at her watch and grabs her laptop. Connor emailed her the other day saying he'd be able to get on to try and catch Rachel's performance. And since she's going second, she thought she could face the laptop towards the screen. She opens up her webchat and hands them their beers. When she sits back down she looks down at the screen.

"Hey there." Connor shows up on the screen.

Sarah smiles brightly and waves. "Just on time. Rachel's second tonight."

"Oh, I'll get to see her. Did Puckerman go?"

"No." Puck answers angrily and glares at the TV.

"Shit." Connor mumbles and Sarah blows him a kiss. Finn sits up and stares at her confused, he looks to Puck and gives him a 'when did that happen' look, but Puck shrugs. "Thanks sweetheart. So tell me what's new with you guys while we wait for Rach."

"Noah got his script for his first episode for the show." She moves the laptop so he can see them all.

"Man, that's awesome." Connor leans forward and smiles into the screen.

"It is Puck. It's cool and he films next week. Me and Sarah are going to go." Finn grins.

"Yeah I'm actually excited to do it."

"You should be. I've been watching them when I get the chance to."

Puck mutes the TV while some clown named Jesse sings. "How's it going over there?" He looks to Connor.

"Long patrols. Nothing major has happened." He shrugs and averts his eyes. "I just want to sleep."

"Oh! She's on!" Sarah turns the laptop towards the screen and turns up the volume."

There's a video of Rachel explaining why she chose her song. She laughs and bites her lip at the end. It cuts to the host and he announces "Rachel Berry, singing 'Hey Jude.'" She looks to her dad and smiles. The piano starts and she closes her eyes, singing the opening lines. After a few beats she opens her eyes again and looks into the camera, smiling and singing. Once the rest of the band joins in, she grabs the microphone and moves towards the front of the stage.

After she's finished, they're all quiet in the living room as the judges tell her she's got an amazing voice and that they think her song choice was spot on. She moves off stage and the cameras show her family cheering loudly then Rachel blowing a kiss to them.

"Wow." Connor breaks the silence.

"That was amazing." Sarah agrees. "Okay, I'll vote after I talk to Connor."

Puck and Finn say bye to Connor and she leaves to her room. Puck leans back and thinks of Rachel. Should he tell her she was amazing? She hasn't responded to any of his other text messages, so she probably wouldn't now. He thinks that she's probably mad that he's not there all together.

Puck groans. "I'm voting them I'm gonna try to sleep."

Finn looks at him concerned. "Maybe you should see a doctor for sleep meds."

"Fuck off Finn. That's why they make whiskey." He drains his beer and moves to his room, leaving Finn staring at his back.

In the middle of the night when he wakes up, he groans and moves to the kitchen. Sarah is in her pajamas on the couch watching some romantic movie that Rachel made him watch a few months ago. _Rachel_. He opens the cabinet filled with all his liquor and pulls the whiskey out, taking two shots before he moves back down the hallway to his room. Puck pulls out his laptop and opens up iTunes so he can go buy the studio version of Rachel singing her song from tonight. He puts it on repeat while he closes his eyes and when he wakes up eight hours later, he hates himself a little more.

* * *

><p>A week later, he's in his trailer for <em>How I Met Your Mother<em> and Finn is sitting on the couch. They just wrapped for the day and he's changing into jeans and a button up when Finn looks over at him from his phone.

"Sarah called while you were on set." Puck raises his eyebrow and buttons his shirt up then moves to roll the sleeves up. "Santana called her and said we're all going to the condo to watch Rachel on Idol tonight."

All the air from his lungs leave. "Wait, they're talking to us again?"

"I guess so man. But aren't you supposed to be doing something with Quinn?"

"Yeah, but you know if I don't go over there, they'll lay a new one on me. Shit, I could just bring Quinn…" He runs his hands over the top of his head, leaving them there for a minute.

"They'll rip your balls off Puck. But they _all_ hate being bailed on, so just bring her."

Puck sends a text to Quinn and they leave to go pick up Sarah.

Santana is pacing in the kitchen while dinner finishes up. "He's bringing that bitch here?" Her voice raises and Brittany just stares at her friend with Lord Tubbington in her arms. The cat meows and Santana tilts her head at it.

"It'll be fine San. But we need to start acting like a group again, because I'm making him go to her performance next week. I don't care what excuse he tries to give me. He's been there for Mike last week and this week. And you need to talk to Finn. It's been a really long time and I know that it's driving you crazy."

"But you heard what he said to Mike."

"I know San, and I don't know how Finn can think this is good for either of them. But we need to do this. It's what Rachel would want."

"Well she's not here." Santana instantly regrets saying that and looks at Brittany. "She's the one who held us all together. We can barely even fucking stand them right now."

They both move to their rooms to change since they're friends are supposed to be coming over any minute now.

The door opens and Sarah walks in slowly, setting her purse down by the table near the door with Finn, Puck and Quinn trailing in behind her. They move into the living room and the girls walk out of their rooms. "Hey guys."

Brittany and Santana move over, hugging Sarah tightly before staring at the other three then walking back into the kitchen. Finn sighs and walks towards the kitchen. "Santana, just talk to me. I'm getting sick of this."

Sarah sighs. "Finn, just don't start this tonight. We're supposed to be supporting Rachel."

"I don't care about Rachel! But I would like my girlfriend back." He looks at Santana, before she turns around with a spoon in her hand pointing to him and starts to yell in Spanish. "Whoa, English please." Her eyebrows shoot up and she starts to yell even more.

Puck moves over to the dining room table where Sarah is sitting and puts his head down. He's been sleeping better but his head is throbbing. And with Santana yelling, it's making it worse.

Quinn walks away to go to the bathroom while Santana and Finn argue. She saw Brittany leave out of the room on the left and Santana from the end of the hallway, so that leaves two doors on the right side of the hallway. She quickly moves so no one notices her leave and picks the first door she sees. When she moves inside, there are clothes everywhere and the bed is in the middle of the room. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she moves further into the room, looking at all the pictures. There's a picture of Rachel and Puck kissing on the beach, her legs wrapped around him. Then closer to the vanity and window, she can see a group picture of them at Disney and another group picture of them with championship hats on.

She sits on the chair and stares at the picture of him holding Rachel with her uniform on and a championship hat on. Quinn sets her face in her hand, her right elbow on her leg and the picture sitting under her left hand. She starts to think about how Puck's been acting the past few weeks. But then she hears someone clear their throat and her head snaps up, meeting his eyes. Puck's standing against the door frame with his jaw clenched and his arms crossed.

"What are you doing in here?" He speaks out gruffly.

"I was trying to find the bathroom and I ended up in here." He moves over and grabs the picture out of her hands and sits on the bed. It was the night before he told her he loved her in the club. "Is it always messy in her room?" She jokes.

Puck looks up at her and shakes his head. "She was redoing her room the day before she left for the show. It's usually pristine in here. It's fuckin' nuts." He stands up and puts the frame back on the nail on the wall, then moves back to the bed.

"Why is it so messy then?" She looks around.

"That was the day I told her about us and what Holly wanted." Puck looks down then over to her nightstand. There's the picture of them kissing on the beach in Miami then next to it, and the picture of him in his uniform from training that he's never noticed until now.

"Oh." Quinn looks down. "That's why Santana was so mad and her fathers was asking where she was."

"Yep. After she was gone, they just brought everything back in here so it was clean in the living room. She'll probably flip her shit when she's back." Puck looks over to 'his' nightstand and sighs. "We better get back out there before Santana comes in here and yells some more or some shit."

Quinn quickly moves out and down the hall back into the living room. Puck looks back into the room and then closes the door quietly.

* * *

><p>Blaine watches as Rachel is getting ready to go out on stage. Kurt walks up next to him and looks at her too. "How has she been? And don't lie."<p>

He glances at the smaller man and sighs. "Holly tells me that every few nights she'll cry herself to sleep when she thinks everyone is asleep. Rachel puts on a smile during the day but the only time I can see a _real_ smile from her, is when she's watching her friend on his show or right after performances."

Kurt sighs. "Poor girl. She looks stunning in that dress though."

Blaine looks the man up and down subtly before looking back at Rachel. "She's beautiful. I can't believe he gave her up." She's standing there in black dress that has a sheer bodice and black satin heels.

Rachel walks over and adjusts the ear piece before smiling at both men. "You are a genius Kurt." She twirls around and her curled pony tail falls over her shoulder.

"Thank you diva." He grins and adjusts the shorter layers framing her face. "Are you ready to show them what you've got? Your voice was almost made for classic Broadway week."

"Of course." Kurt smiles and walks away after kissing her cheek to go check on his other contestants. Blaine puts his hands in his pockets and smiles. Rachel smiles back and adjusts the vest that he's wearing over his button up and slacks. "You look handsome."

He laughs and hugs her. "We're both going to kick some ass tonight."

Rachel looks up at him and smiles sadly. "I wish San and Britt were here."

"And Puck?" Blaine asks and pushes her hair out of her eyes.

She glances up at him. "Yes." She whispers and looks away.

"Hey, it's okay." Blaine puts his finger under her chin so she'll look at him. "Use your emotions when you sing." He nods to the stage. "You're up." He kisses her cheek and she smiles at him.

"Thank you."

Rachel moves out to the wings of the stage and takes a deep breath before moving out onto the stage in front of the microphone. Once she's announced, Rachel takes a deep breath and listens to the piano starting to play 'I Dreamed a Dream.' The judges are staring at her and smiling, her dads are at the edge of their seat, and she can feel Blaine's eyes on her. Rachel lets out a shaky breath before easing into the beginning lyrics, letting all the emotions she's been feeling into the song. At the end of the song, she wipes away a tear and smiles at the judges.

Randy looks at her and lets out a breath. "Yo Rachel, look..." Her heart sinks. "The emotion that you put into that song, it was amazing! I want to see you put more emotion like that into everything you sing from here on out."

"Thank you." She smiles nervously and looks to Steven. "I liked it. I'm not a Broadway kind of guy, but the song choice was fantastic. I think you can make it far in this competition. Everyone is loving you." The crowd cheers and she laughs a little, biting her lip.

"Rachel, you did an amazing job up there. You sang from your heart and that's how it should be. I agree with Randy and Steven, keep up with singing with your heart and use your emotions, you'll go far. I hope we see you next week." Jennifer winks at her.

* * *

><p>So I'm not <em>exactly<em> thrilled about this chapter. It was kind of depressing to me, but yeah. If you guys have any ideas on what should happened in the next one, let me know. I'm kind of running low on the ideas, anatomy class is messing with my head. And I'm pretty sure this is the shortest chapter so far. Sorry about the suckage guys.**  
><strong>

Anywho, the dress for her top 11 performance, if you go to Google images and type in 'Lea Michele dress', it's the 3rd one with the red InStyle squares in the background : )

Reviewer #200 shall get something special also.


	16. Chapter 16

**Still don't own anything. Mistakes are mine :)**

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><p>Rachel shifts nervously on the couches on stage while Ryan announces that they'll be watching the music video that they shot earlier this week in a few minutes after the commercial break. She's sandwiched between Blaine and Holly, but she feels like she's going to throw up.<p>

"Stop fidgeting." Jesse whispers behind her back.

"How were you three so calm?" She whispers back harshly.

"Because there's nothing we can do to control it Rachel. Relax, have some fun." Holly pushes Rachel's shoulder with her own.

Blaine wraps his arm around Rachel. "They're right sweetie. Just calm down. Plus we get to see the music video we shot and it was a lot of fun."

"It was fun, but all three of you _already know_ _you're safe_!" She leans forward and puts her face in her hands.

Holly, Blaine and Jesse all exchange looks before sighing and just letting her freak out. They come back from a commercial break and Rachel sits up, putting on a smile. The music video comes up on the screen. She doesn't really pay attention to it while it plays next to them.

A few minutes, or more like twenty, she's standing up next to a girl named Sugar in the middle of the stage. They're the bottom two. And even though she might be humiliated on TV in front of millions of viewers in a matter of minutes, she's kind of relieved that it would only be her dads in the crowd for it. Rachel looks over to Blaine while Ryan spews out information about how many viewers voted and what the difference is between the two. She could care less, but he's prolonging it more than really needed.

"And the contestant going home tonight is…" He undoes the card in his hand and stares at it for a few seconds. Rachel tries really hard not to scream at him, telling him to hurry up. "Sugar Motta."

The girl tears up and hugs Rachel tightly. Rachel moves back to the couches and sits down, releasing a shaky breath. Blaine wraps his arm around her shoulders while Sugar sings her last song. Holly bumps Rachel with the right side of her body and smiles cheekily. Rachel manages a smile back before looking back at her dads. They both blow her a kiss.

Later that night, Blaine walks into her bedroom while Holly watches TV with Jesse. He lays down next to her, leaning slightly against the headboard. "So why are you all alone in here?"

"I was _really_ close to going home. Bottom two Blaine. You were the first person was safe tonight." She sighs.

"You're still here Rachel, that's what matters."

"That's true, but I could be gone next week."

"Why do you think you were in the bottom two? You've obviously got the talent to be here. I mean you have an amazing voice, you get along with everyone, and you're incredibly beautiful."

She sighs and looks down at the comforter. "I wasn't exactly famous, but being Noah's girlfriend got me some attention." Blaine is about to respond but she holds up her hand. "Not the good kind. I had a drink thrown at me because I was dating him and 'pulled him off the market' for other women. We may be broken up, but I'm sure a lot of women aren't just going to turn around and vote for me. They probably still dislike me to some degree, so they're not going to give me a sympathy vote." He raises an eyebrow to question her. "What if they feel threatened and think that now that I'm getting noticed that he'll want to get back together? Not that he would be shallow like that, but they don't know him like I do. And the LFL isn't that widely known so that's not likely to help me either. But I'm fine with that, because it gives me an equal shot like everyone else."

"They wouldn't have let you on the show if you had an unfair advantage. You got on the show for your voice. But someone threw their drink on you? That's awful Rachel."

Rachel shakes her head, ignoring everything he just said. "I just have to work harder. Appeal to the crowd more. Kurt may be dressing me so that Noah will want me back, but I need to draw in people." Rachel sits up and faces Blaine, her knees brushing against his ribs. "I _refuse_ to be in the bottom again if I can help it."

Blaine sits up against the headboard and grins. "You're kind of hot when you get all motivated." She blushes and looks down. He moves towards her, pushing her hair off her shoulder. Her eyes flutter close when he leans forward then as his lips brush against hers.

She can't believe she's kissing Blaine, whom she doesn't really know, a competitor in this contest and really her only friend besides Kurt and Holly. Jesse too if you can ignore his ego. But Blaine's lips are soft, not quite like Puck's though, and he's gentle. Puck was gentle but possessive when he kissed her, his hand on her cheek, neck or somewhere that felt intimate. Blaine's hand is resting on her knee while their tongues are massaging each other's, not fighting for any type of dominance. Rachel moves her hands up his chest until one is curved around his neck. Blaine moans into her mouth, moving his hand up her body until it's resting on her ribs.

"Blaine." She whispers against his lips and pulls away a bit, her eyes still closed.

He sighs. "I'm sorry. You're still getting over him and I'm your competition."

It's really almost scary how he knows what she's thinking. "I don't mind." And she doesn't. Of course she's still hurt by Puck, but he's probably doing the same with Quinn. "I just don't want you to feel like a rebound." She pulls back and drops her hand down to his thigh.

Blaine laughs slightly. "I'm a big boy Rachel. This can just be a stress release. Really, but whatever you want. We'll still be friends."

"Thank you Blaine."

He gets up and leans forward to kiss her forehead, but she raises her head so their lips meet.

* * *

><p>Puck releases his breath once they find out Rachel is safe until next week. They came back over after Brittany insisted that they had to be there for the results as well. They weren't even as mad when Quinn came with him again. Santana walks over and hugs Finn tightly, pressing a kiss to his lips. They're all surprised when they leave the room to go talk. Maybe things will be returning to normal, as normal as they can be for now considering everything that's happened the past few weeks. Quinn shifts uncomfortably, looking around the room. Puck's cell phone goes off and he stands up to walk to Rachel's room to answer it privately. Quinn looks up to him with wide eyes and he holds up five fingers.<p>

"Hey ma."

"_Noah! Did you see that Rachel was almost kicked off? I was so worried that she was going home early." _

He shuts Rachel's door and sits on the bed, then laying across so that he's facing where her dismantled dresser is. "Yeah, I saw."

"_But that Blaine looked awfully cozy with her don't you think?" _

"What?" Puck thinks back to what he just watched and he didn't notice any guy close to Rachel.

"_Oh honey, the man sitting next to her put his arm around her shoulders when she sat down." _

"Maybe I was blinking when they showed that part." He furrows his brow. What kind of idiot answer was that?

She hums then pauses. _"What?"_ He laughs even though he knows it was a shitty excuse of a lie. _"It did go by fast, but still. Have you talked to her? How is she handling everything?" _

His heart sinks, knowing how pissed she's going to be when he tells her they're not together anymore. "Ma…look…"

"_What's wrong?"_ Her voice sounds legitimately worried and he shakes his head.

"We're not together anymore."

Puck's scared by how quiet she is on the other line. He pulls the phone away to see if the call is still connected. _"What do you mean?"_

"We broke up before she left, because of—"

"_Fix it."_ She says sternly and hangs up.

Puck moves out to the living room to see Quinn shifting nervously on the couch, tapping her foot against the hardwood floor while Brittany scrubs the kitchen counter. She stands up and moves towards him and slips on her heels.

"I'm going to go home. I have a photo shoot early in the morning." Quinn kisses his cheek and moves towards the door. "Goodnight, and thank you for having me over Brittany." The other blonde nods and looks away. "Bye Puck."

When she closes the door, Puck moves to the couch and sits down, tipping his head back against the cushion. Brittany moves over and sits down next to him, throwing her legs on top of his thighs. He moves his hands over them and squeezes. "Thanks for not killing Quinn tonight."

Brittany shrugs. "I didn't want to upset you more than you already are. Not talking to you guys for a few weeks obviously had an effect on you."

"Yeah, a bit." Puck looks over at her. "That was my ma. Finally told her we broke up."

She sits up a bit straighter. "What'd she say?"

"Told me to fix it then hung up on me. She probably won't talk to me for awhile. What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"You're coming to her show next week."

Puck looks at Brittany and his shoulders slump forward. "She's not going to want me there Britt."

"You've supported Mike even though he's not talking to you."

"I also didn't break up with him." Puck raises an eyebrow at her.

"Just go. You never know what could happen. Rachel almost got sent home tonight and do you really want to have that on your conscience if you never got to see her perform on stage, in person?"

He closes his eyes and tips his head back groaning. "No."

"Then it's settled." She hops up and holds her hand out. "You can sleep in Rachel's room tonight."

Puck takes her hand and kisses her cheek when they stop in front of her room after they've turned everything off. He moves into Rachel's room and looks around. Instead of going to sleep like he _should_, he opens up her window then turns on the fan and starts to paint her dresser a teal color that she picked out before she left.

* * *

><p>Quinn unlocks the door to her apartment and tosses her purse onto the ground next to her shoes. She's sifting through her mail and walking to her couch when she sees someone sitting there. Letting out a scream, she throws the mail at the person and backs away.<p>

"Quinny calm down!" Holly stands up and checks her arms for paper cuts.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment? In the dark?" She puts her hand over her heart and walks towards the kitchen, flipping on the lights. "You scared me."

"Sorry." The brunette sits on top of the counter while Quinn sets the kettle on top of her stove. "I have excellent news." She claps her hands together.

"If it's something about Puck, I really don't want to hear it Holls." Quinn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"No worries, it's not about Puck. Well…directly."

Her eyebrows furrow together. "What is that even supposed to mean?"

She sits up and looks at her friend with grin. "There are rumors going around saying that Rachel is dating one of her competitors, Blaine. They always look cozy on elimination nights and there are people around set who say that they hug a lot."

Rolling her eyes, "Holly, did you ever think she could just have a friend there? And who did you hear this from?"

"That's not important." She hops down off the counter and stands in front of Quinn. "We're that much closer to getting him."

Quinn throws her hands up and shakes her head. "What are you talking about? Have you seen Puck lately? He has bags under his eyes. I've heard Sarah telling Finn that in the middle of the night he'll walk out to the kitchen to drink whiskey so _he can sleep_. He's not doing well Holly. I think we should stop whatever it _is_ we're doing. Being in a fake relationship is screwing up his mind."

"He's fine Quinny. All he needs is someone who cares. You care about him don't you?"

She thinks about it for a minute. "Well yeah—"

"And how did he treat you all those years you were dating Finn?"

"Well towards the end he didn't really care and after you two broke up—"

"Exactly! Once I get everything in place, we'll all be happy again. You'll get Finn back. We've already gotten rid of Rachel."

"Wait, who said I want to be back with Finn?"

"Please." Holly tilts her head and looks at Quinn pointedly.

"He's happy with Santana and I want him to be happy after screwing everything up. And Puck deserves to be happy Holly. Is this even a good idea anymore?"

"And Puck will be." She smiles and grabs her purse off the counter. "You just wait and see Quinn. We'll have everything we ever wanted back. Please, just…trust me. And do this for me."

Quinn stares at Holly's back as she leaves. The kettle goes off and she takes a deep breath. She really doesn't know what she's gotten herself into.

* * *

><p>Santana sits across from Finn in her chair. He runs his hands over his face and takes a deep breath. "Okay, whatever has been going on for the past few weeks, we gotta get it all out right now."<p>

"You know I don't do these types of conversations Finn." She looks at him pointedly..

"Well you know what, just try. For our relationship's sake." He says a little more forcefully than he intended. He really hopes she won't start yelling at him in Spanish again.

She huffs and stands up, starting to pace. He watches her walk back and forth. "Puck picking his job over Rachel was shitty and I _hate_ knowing that you fucking agreed." She stops in front of him, firmly planting a hand on her hip.

Finn's not quite sure how she knows that but he decides to ignore it. "Alright and I can see why that pisses you off San. Ideally, both actors are single when something like this comes up and maybe I should've made him think about it more. Or talked to the director but I can't change that now. Trusting Holly was really stupid on my part."

"But," She pauses and takes a deep breath, looking away from him. "I can see why it was important to you both." Santana says quietly before pacing again. "I just really, really didn't want to see Rachel get fucking hurt out of all of it. And then she runs away. Rachel Berry _never _runs away, so I know Puck means a lot to her."

"Yeah." Finn honestly doesn't know what else to say. He's just glad that Santana is talking to him again. And she kissed him so that's a good thing.

Santana sits in his lap and looks him straight into his eyes. Brown meeting brown. "I'm not going to say I'm sorry, because I'm not. She's my family."

"I get that. And Puck's mine." She laughs and leans forward, kissing him. "It's been too long." He pulls her closer and kisses her hungrily, laying back and pulling her with him. Santana hums her agreement before straddling his hips and kissing him lazily.

They both know they should talk about it more, but being in each others arms is more important to them at the moment.

* * *

><p>Puck unbuttons the top buttons on his plaid shirt and moves towards Finn and Sarah. They're all watching as Jimmy Fallon talks to the camera and talks a bit about him and his costar before introducing them. Quinn walks up beside him with Holly hot on her heels. He takes in her appearance, her blonde hair in curls with her bangs pinned back, a dress with white on top with a deep dip down into her cleavage that hangs off her shoulders loosely and a grey high waist skirt, but it's all in one. He really doesn't understand woman's clothing. She has on nude colored heels and she squeezes his hand when she notices he's staring down at the ground.<p>

"You ready?"

He nods right when Jimmy says their names. Quinn steps out before him and smiles, waving to the crowd while Puck does the same. They both shake his hand, with her kissing his cheek, then sit down, Quinn taking the seat furthest from their host.

"Thank you so much for being here on the show tonight you two."

"Great to be here. Thanks for havin' us." Puck smirks and the girls in the crowd go crazy.

"I'm glad to be here Jimmy." Quinn smiles and crosses her legs.

"Now you two are in the new Tarantino film, basically a prequel to _Inglourious Basterds_, am I right?"

Quinn looks over to Puck while he answers. "Basically yeah. I play the main character who tries to get in with the Basterds once he joins the Army and Quinn is my character's girlfriend."

"Who has an issue with him trying to get into the group after he gets back from basic." She rolls her eyes and smiles at the two men.

"Anyways, it follows his story and how the group gets to where it is in the original." Puck sets his right ankle on his left knee.

"So I take it there will be a lot of violence and romance?" Jimmy quirks his eyebrows up and looks at them with a grin on his face.

She blushes. "Yes, I think the crowd will love it. Especially all you young ladies who have a little crush on Puck here." Quinn nudges his arm with her elbow while the girls in the crowd scream. She laughs. "Their relationship and the story line get overly complicated when he has to go and be with the group in the movie, it gets tested constantly throughout. She doesn't want to be the girlfriend who sends a 'Dear John' letter so she struggles with what to do because she loves him so much, but you'll just have to wait and see the movie to find out what happens."

"On that note, let's take a look at a clip from the movie."

They all face forward as the clip plays, but they can see it on a small screen. It's a scene where they're arguing but he abruptly pulls her in for a kiss which leads him to push her onto a bed. Quinn is pulling off his shirt in the scene and it starts to get heated when the clip ends. Everyone boos in the crowd and it shows both Quinn and Puck laughing.

"I think it's safe to say that a few of the girls hate Miss Fabray right now." He laughs. "Okay, so Quinn, you've had a photo shoot recently, with Vanity Fair. How was that?" They both look over to her.

"It was amazing. They were so wonderful there and they really wanted to keep with a 40's theme because of our new movie. I've never had more fun on a photo shoot than I did with them."

Jimmy pulls up a picture of her from the shoot and she hides her face, blushing. "They sent this over earlier when they found out she would be on the show tonight. Isn't she beautiful?" The crowd agrees. "Now Puck, you're doing some guest work on _How I Met Your Mother_?"

"I am." He smirks when the crowd goes crazy again. "It's one of my favorite shows and I know my group of friends just love it too. And to work with the entire cast, it's a dream come true."

"What does your girlfriend think of it?" Jimmy asks and Quinn feels Puck tense beside her. She glances at him from the corner of her eye and he lets out a shaky breath.

He knows the second he uses this excuse that he'll probably receive all sorts of hell over it, but even if they are broken up, he feels like he needs to protect her from the screw up he did. "She is ecstatic for me, but since she's on her show now, we decided to take a break so that she could focus on that. But we're both very happy for each other."

"There have been numerous photos of you and Quinn out and about with each other. Is there something going on now that you're single?" He leans back in his chair looking at both of them.

Quinn clears her throat and sets her hand on Puck's forearm. He looks at her nervously. "No, we're just friends and coworkers. We decided to use the time to get used to each others annoying habits before we go on the road for press for the movie." She smiles. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Holly turn red before storming away towards the dressing room. Puck looks at her with wide eyes.

"Oh," He turns towards the camera and smiles. "Well after the break, me and Puck are going to do something stupid and possibly reckless, stick around!"

Jimmy and Puck move to get helmets on while Quinn stands up and moves so that she can be the flag girl in their race. When they get back from the commercial break, the crew brings out miniature motorcycles and she laughs when Puck eyes it wearily. Him and Jimmy start to joke around about the size of them and Puck can't help but laugh really hard. Quinn's actually happy to see him smile a real smile. She waves the flag in the air and they move off to the end of a hallway. She laughs even harder when she's watching the video feed of them and Puck crashes, but moves to continue being in the lead. At one point she sees him driving circles around their host.

Puck manages to get into a comfortable position on the mini bike when Quinn waves the flag. He speeds off and he's laughing along with Jimmy behind him. At the end of the 'track' that they had, he barely crashes into the wall but he picks up the bike and runs to the finish line, sliding onto his knees past the ribbon there when Jimmy crosses then collapses onto his back. Quinn runs over and helps them both up and laughs, hugging Puck tightly. They all shake hands.

"The new champion, Noah Puckerman everyone! And our lovely flag waver, Quinn Fabray! Check out their new movie when it comes out in July. We'll be back after the commercial!"

They all shake hands and hug again.

During the commercial break when Quinn and Puck walk off stage, Finn stares at them with Sarah shifting nervously next to him. "Holly went to the dressing room, we should probably go there as a group to avoid anything that might happen." Puck nods to Finn and they all walk to the dressing room. Finn opens the door slowly and Holly is pacing back and forth.

They all sit down in different chairs and with Finn leaning on the vanity while Holly continues to pace, but then she stops abruptly in front of Puck and Quinn. "What was that?" She spits out venomously.

"What do you mean?" Quinn moves forward in the seat and looks up at her friend innocently.

"Don't give me that shit Quinny." The blonde flinches and smiles tightly. "What's the point of pretending to be a couple if you're going to announce it to the entire fucking world that you're friends who are 'trying to get used to each other' before all the traveling you'll be doing? That wasn't the deal and I'm not sure how your director is going to even react to it!"

Quinn crosses her arms and stares at her friend. "The movie has been getting great publicity lately Holly, so I really don't think it's necessary for us to act like more than friends, especially since that's all that we are."

Holly steps in front of Quinn and glares. "That's not your job to decide!" Her voice raising slightly. "And you!" She points to Puck. "Noah, you could've defended her and said that she was your girlfriend."

Puck glares at her. "First off, you don't fucking call me that. Only my ma and Sarah get to call me that."

"What about Rachel?" She sneers and crosses her arms over her chest.

"She's different."

"You two are over _Noah_." She smiles smugly. "There's even rumors that she's with one of her competitors on the show! So stop doing this and do your job, act like her boyfriend!"

"I told you not to call me that!" He raises his voice. Both Sarah and Quinn flinch. "And holy shit Holly, she's not my girlfriend! None of this is real." He chooses to ignore what she's saying about the rumors about Rachel, because for all he knows she could be lying.

"Puck…" Finn walks over and pulls him to the side. "As your best friend, maybe it's time to fire Holly. She's fucking with your mind. She's got some sort of agenda and I can tell that Quinn isn't okay with whatever it is now. Instead of looking worriedly at Holly right now, she's looking at you." Puck looks back at Quinn and she's biting her bottom lip. "We'll find a better publicist."

But he turns towards Holly and looks at her with his eyes narrowed. "Finn's right. You do have an agenda, so why don't you fucking share it with us? We'd all love to know. Even though I have a feeling that Quinn already has an idea."

"You belong _with me_ Puck. Not some ugly freak with shitty friends. I made you get to where you are now. People only cared about you because you were with a woman who holds such great power."

"Holly, Finn got me to where I am now. Shit, my image got better when I _stopped_ fucking around with you. I'm so sick of this." He yells out frustrated and runs his hands over his head. "Just tell us what the fuck you've got going on in your head!"

"So what if I used Quinn and your job to break you and Rachel up?" Holly stands up straighter and looks into Puck's eyes. "You're single now and I have my chance to win you back." She moves closer to Puck and runs her finger up his jaw. "Don't you miss this? Us?"

Puck moves her finger and hand away from him. "No, I don't. Because I love Rachel. And I'll wait until she's not pissed at me anymore to talk to her and to prove that to her. And I sure as hell don't need you around when I do it."

"You're an idiot Puck. And you should be glad that I haven't used any of my connections to get her kicked off the show. We all know she doesn't deserve to be there anyways."

Finn walks over next to Puck and crosses his arms. "You try doing that and I'll go to your boss, AKA daddy, and tell him how you've managed to use your 'connections' to ruin a lot of business for him since you started."

"You wouldn't dare." She looks between them nervously then over to Quinn. "Help me!"

"I can't." Quinn shakes her head, unshed tears building in her eyes. "Were you ever really my friend or were you just using me to get to Puck? All those days you came to see me on set. I thought you wanted to keep me company but I should've known better when you'd always glare at Rachel when she came to see him."

"Quinny…" Holly moves closer to the blonde.

"I don't want you as my publicist anymore." She looks away.

"You're fired." Puck stares at her.

"All of you will regret this." Holly narrows her eyes at everyone, ending on Puck, when she grabs her purse and storms out of the room.

Everyone lets out a sigh of relief, but they all look to Quinn when she sniffles.

Quinn stands up and moves towards Puck, tears streaming down her face. "Puck I am _so_ sorry. She only told me her plan for the publicity, not anything else. I should've known better when she kept bringing you up." She shakes her head as he backs away from her. "I'm such a horrible person. I ruined your relationship and I'm so sorry." She sobs slightly and looks at Finn. "And I was awful to you, cheating on you." Quinn shakes her head again. "I hope one day you guys will forgive me." She grabs her purse and wipes her cheeks as she runs out of the room.

"Shit." Puck mumbles under his breath and sits on the couch. "What else can go wrong?" He asks himself.

* * *

><p>Brittany, Santana and Mike are sitting in the condo late at night since Mike just got done with his practice for the night. They're all eating Chinese when they're phones go off at the same time. They all look to each other before picking them up.<p>

_Sarah: Puck & Quinn fired Holly. Did you watch his show tonight?_

Santana types out a reply before snatching the remote and turning on his show that they recorded. The three of them didn't touch their food as they watch shocked as Quinn tells Jimmy, and the rest of the world in that case, that they're just friends.

"I can't believe she did that." Mike looks down at his food.

"This is good right? Puck and Rachel can get back together and he won't look like a cheater anymore." Brittany looks between the two of them.

"Yeah Britts, it is good." Santana sighs. "But you know Rachel won't get over the fact that it was easy for him to choose work over her. Matt did the same thing."

Mike sighs. "He'll just have to prove it to her if he really loves her. And I know that he does."

"He's going to the show tomorrow. That will at least prove _something_."

"At least Quinn won't be there." Santana smirks and stabs a piece of broccoli.

* * *

><p>Rachel is sitting in her chair, while the specialists work on her hair and makeup. Kurt is standing next to the mirror, looking at her with a somewhat horrified expression. She could swear he is on the verge of hyperventilating.<p>

"Kurt, calm down."

"You didn't let me help you choose your outfit at all. As a matter of fact, you pretty much said 'screw you' to anyone who tried to help you this week!" He presses his fingers around the corner of his eyes. "Diva, you will be the cause of my wrinkles."

"It's not that bad." She tilts her head at him. "Does my opening outfit look awful?"

He takes in her appearance. "Not necessarily."

"And does my makeup or my hair look bad?"

"It could use some tweaking." Kurt looks away and tries not to grind his teeth together. He finally gives up and moves towards the specialists and tells them how to fix her makeup a little better.

She thinks about Kurt's words and thinks about the past week.

_As soon as she found out the theme for this week's show, she listened to all the song choices before settling on one that she really could do something different with. Rachel could practically see her performance in her mind, down to the shoes she'd be wearing. She picks up the CD and moves to the room where she tells them her decision. _

_They all look at her, including the music and band directors, with a shocked expression on their faces. "Are you sure about this? The judges may not like it. They've loved your voice so far, so why don't you stick to that route?"_

"_Because I need to not only show off that I'm versatile and win over the judges, but most importantly I need to win over the voters. This is one of the most popular songs on the CD and I want to do it. I have an idea of how I want it to sound and I know that you guys can help me pull it off. Please?" _

_Rachel looks up at them and they all slowly nod. She smiles and pulls the lyrics out in front of her, humming it quietly to figure out what key she wants it in. The men in the room take note of how she wants everything to be before nodding at her so they can sent it to a freelancer to work on the final product. Once she's happy with everything, she returns to her room and writes out the arrangement on some sheet paper they gave her so she can work on it by herself before she sees the coaches tomorrow._

_When she moves into the room once Blaine leaves, she can't help but gawk at who the mentor of the week is. Rachel feels butterflies in her stomach as she moves to sing the song that she picked. The coaches and the mentor give her amazing feedback and what they think she can do to improve. She's feeling so much more confident than she was two days ago when she was in the bottom two. _

Kurt looks at her with his head tilted and his fist resting under his chin, lips pursed. "Yes, I think that is much better."

Rachel looks into the mirror and widens her eyes. "You're a genius." She moves her face to the right and smiles. "I need to go get ready for the group performance. Thank you Kurt." She kisses his cheek before running off.

Blaine walks up to Kurt and glares at him. "What is that look for?"

"I just happened to look out into the audience and saw a certain ex boyfriend of hers in the audience. Were you even going to tell her that he's here?"

He eyes Blaine wearily. "No…" He purses his lips then narrows his eyes. "Why?"

"What if she sees him while she's performing and completely freezes?"

"Okay, one, Rachel wouldn't do that. She cares too much about her performance this week. Two, maybe he'll realize what he's missing when he sees what song she's doing this week because she's seriously going to rock the hell out of it. Three, you like her don't you?"

"What? No." Blaine shakes his head fast.

"Mhm." Kurt grins and leaves.

Puck's sitting in the crowd, sandwiched between Mike and Finn. Sarah is sitting next to Santana (between her and Finn), who happens to be sitting next to Brittany, next to Rachel's dads. He's really worried to be anywhere near her dads considering everything that's happened. The white one was nice and shook his hand though when they sat down. Her daddy, he really can't get over that, eyed him when they sat down.

The show just started and he's watching, slightly bored, as they talk about the theme of the week. He doesn't hear what it is, but Puck just glances around at all the fans and families in the crowd. Many people have poster's and t shirts made up but not Rachel's. Although that seems like something Brittany would want to do. So he continues to glance around, then noticing how _close_ he is sitting to Steven Tyler. _Steven. Fucking. Tyler._ He shivers slightly and looks back towards the stage when music starts to play. The four girls left, walk down some steps then six guys walk out from either side of the stage, singing the opening lyrics to 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga. Oh, the theme of the week is basically her music. He gets it now.

His eyes immediately go to Rachel when the girls start to sing their part. She's got on this sexy white lace dress with white high heels, and one arm covered in lace that he can see her skin through. Her eyes are all smoky and all he wants to do is touch her. Then all of a sudden she sends a wink over in their direction, but he feels like it's not towards him (she probably doesn't realize he's there) because Santana and Brittany blow a kiss back to her. Puck feels a hand on him and he looks down, then over to see Santana smile sadly at him. He smirks and looks back as the group sings together near the end of the song.

When it ends, he claps along with everyone else. Puck knows he should've come to see her sooner, just knowing how good it feels to be near her in the same building makes him want to try harder. She leaves off the stage and they're in the middle of a commercial break when Mike looks at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You okay man?"

Puck looks over to Mike. "Talkin' to me again?"

"Look," Mike licks his suddenly dry lips and turns towards his friend. "I heard that you fired Holly. And yeah, I can see why you picked your job over her. All of our jobs are demanding, yours more so than mine. But your publicist was the reason for all this shit and you finally got rid of her. So yeah, I'm talking to you again."

He looks down and runs his tongue over his teeth. Puck nods. "I fucked up man. I get it. And I'll get Rach back."

Mike smirks. "Good. That's more like the Puck I know."

They both face forward when they get back and Ryan is announcing the first singer.

Rachel is changed into her next outfit, standing back stage as Blaine gets ready. This week she's performing last. Leaning against a wall, she looks out into the crowd where her family is. Brittany is dancing in her seat along with her daddy and her dad is just smiling, shaking his head. Santana is laughing, holding Finn's hand. She wonders when they started to talk again, but she knows if she actually looked at her phone she'd probably know. But then everyone starts to clap and she turns her attention to Blaine. He smiles at Ryan then takes hold of the microphone. The music starts and she's nodding along with the music when he starts to sing. She's almost jealous of how well he's pulling off the song. The judges are already in love with him singing You And I_. _

"Miss Berry?"

She turns and looks at one of the assistants. "Yes?"

"We need to get your ear piece ready again." She nods and takes one last glance at Blaine, rocking out at the microphone, then moves back to follow the assistant.

Puck stares at the man singing on stage. Surprisingly enough, the guy makes him think that he wouldn't mind listening to those songs if they were more rock like this one. He tips his head back as the judges comment and looks over when they announce a commercial break. Rachel appears on stage and the band is setting up behind her. He can see that both Mike and Finn's jaws have dropped when they catch sight of her. She's got on tight black jeans (and he can't help but look at her ass) and leather boots, a white corset that pushes up her cleavage a bit and a black leather jacket that cuts off at her elbows. A female assistant is adjusting something on the back of her pants. The girl quickly runs off the stage and Ryan walks back out on some stairs to the left. He welcomes them back from the commercial and then a clip shows up on the screen. It shows Rachel walking in to meet with the mentor, shocked to see Lady Gaga actually sitting there in front of her. The woman gives her some tips on theatricality and how to make her performance stand out a bit more. A few seconds later, they're both singing the song and hugging each other. The clip ends and Rachel is standing in the middle of the stage again.

The judges sit up a bit straighter and grin at Rachel. As soon as he announces that she's doing 'Bad Romance', Puck sits up a bit, expecting her to do the pop version of it.

But as soon as the guitarist moves next to Rachel and starts to play the opening of the song. Rachel is shaking her hips then starts in on the lyrics, closing her eyes and holding the microphone with both hands on the stand. A completely different voice comes out from her mouth. It's a bit more raw than her other songs, but it actually kind of suits her for this. He glances at the judges and they're eyebrows are up to their foreheads, along with Mike and Finn's. No one expected a rock version of this song, especially from Rachel. During the chorus, she pulls off the microphone and walks over in front of Santana and Brittany. Right after the chorus, it slows down and she holds one hand out, pointing to them. She sings this amazing note and winks at the both of them, walking back to the microphone, setting it back in its place. Puck swallows and can't keep his eyes off her. At one point, she ruffles up her hair and he _knows_ that when she has curly hair and they have sex, that's what it looks like right after.

As soon as the song is over, she moves up to the front of the stage and stands next to Ryan, trying to catch her breath. Rachel looks at the judges and Steven just grins at her.

"Rachel! I love the little rock star you've created tonight. I really think you could make an album just by singing like that and I hope to see more of it." He nods and looks to the woman next to him.

"When I heard that you were going to do that song, I was a bit nervous. And then you started to sing and it was just…different. I enjoyed your performance."

Rachel tries not to squeal and looks to Randy, biting her lip. "I really digged that performance. It was completely unexpected from you. We loved it. The crowd loved it. I really think you'll make it far in this competition."

Ryan talks into a commercial break then tells her that she can go down and see her family for a minute. She moves out and hugs her dads.

"Oh honey, you were amazing!" Allen holds her out in his arms and looks her over, frowning. "Must you wear a top like that?"

"Allen, stop it." Nathan rolls his eyes and grins.

She moves to hug Brittany and Santana at the same time. "I'm so glad you guys are here. I knew you wouldn't want to miss this week."

"That was amazing. And you met her!" Santana stares at her in awe, then wraps her arm around Finn's waist. She sees Rachel's nervous smile. "Um, someone else is here to see you."

Rachel turns and sees Mike standing there. Santana groans a tiny bit, but she dismisses it easily. "Mike!" She hugs him tightly. "I've been getting everyone to vote for you. And you've been doing amazing choreography! I just can't believe you're on _Dancing with the Stars._"

He laughs and pulls Brittany into his side. "I've been getting everyone to vote for you too. You're doing amazing up there. And I really liked how you tweaked the song tonight." Mike winks and steps to the side, revealing Puck.

"Noah." She whispers and stares into his eyes. They look a little more green today.

"Hey Rach." He smiles sadly. She's just standing there, staring at him. "You were amazing up there." Puck nods towards the stage.

"Thank you." Rachel glances at her best friends and swallows. They both nod and smile. "How are you?"

"I've been better." He shrugs. "I'd really like it if we could talk."

"Yeah, sure." She looks over her shoulder and sees the stage crew motioning her to get back on stage. "Um, send me a text later. I have to get back on stage, but thanks for coming." Rachel backs up and waves goodbye to everyone before hopping up on stage.

They all watch her as she moves to Kurt, looking back over her shoulder at Puck and Blaine walking up next to her. She bites her bottom lip and looks away, her hand coming up to her face then wrapping her arms around herself. Puck closes his eyes and prays that she'll respond to him tonight. And it's pretty rare when he prays.

* * *

><p>Thank you everyone for the ideas. I used some of them, in a different way than you guys suggested, but I hope you still liked it. If you recognize your idea, thank you sooo so so so much! :) So if you guys have any more ideas, do tell. Even if I may not use the exact idea, it helps me think.<p>

Okay, so Rachel singing 'Bad Romance' came to me when I was listening to Halestorm's cover of the song. Check it out if you want to have an idea or what it sounded like, so all the credit for Lady Gaga's song goes to her.

The idea of Puck & Jimmy riding tiny motorcycles came from Jimmy Fallon & Taylor Lautner doing the same thing on one of his interviews. Credit goes to them.

26 reviews! You guys rock. Seriously. #200 was _itskindafuntodotheimpossible, _so I'll try to work on your one shot soon.

And Puck on Glee last night! Now I just need some Puck & Rachel then I'll be content.

Also, I swear I'll update Puckleberry Games eventually. I haven't forgotten it.


	17. Chapter 17

Still don't own Glee. Definitely don't own the songs that are mentioned/used in this chapter either. Mistakes are mine

* * *

><p>Puck settles down onto Rachel's bed where he's been sleeping the past few nights. Her dresser is painted and aired out now so he folded her clothes and set them in their right places. He's not sure why he's doing any of that, maybe because he feels like he owes her something. Actually, he knows that he owes her much more than folding her clothes and putting them away.<p>

Rachel's show ended a few hours ago, so after dropping Sarah off at his place and grabbing the pile of scripts that's been sitting on his coffee table for the past couple of weeks, he finally sprawls out on his bed. Sighing, he sits back up and looks at all the titles on the top page.

Santana pops her head in and smirks at the sight of him sitting on Rachel's bed in the middle of the room. "Hey."

He looks over his shoulder and matches her smirk with his own. "What's up?"

"Why are you sleeping over?" She sits on the other side of the bed and picks up a script, scrunching her nose up at the title.

"Figured I'd help get some of the shit done that she wanted to do with the remodel. At least the things I know how to do." He motions to the painted dresser. "Everything else I'm not sure about."

She picks up the scraps of fabric off the nightstand and looks at all of them, spreading them out over the bed next to his scripts that he's staring at. The Latina toys with the edge of one sample and sighs. "I know I've been a little bit of a bitch."

"A little?" Puck laughs and looks over at her. She's got a small smile on her face so he knows he didn't piss her off.

"Okay, a big one. But like I told Finn, Rachel is my family. Her and Britt." She shakes her head and looks over at him. "And I'm not going to say I'm sorry."

"Didn't expect you to. I get it, Finn and Mike are mine too. And I get why you were so pissed so let's just," He pauses and picks up a script, "Put this all behind us and fucking move on."

"Alright Puckerman." Santana looks around the room. She motions to the wall. "Rachel really needs a TV in here."

He laughs. "Fuck I know, but I figured it was smart to bring these over here so I'd actually look through them."

"Well have at it. I just wanted to get things straight with us." Santana puts away the fabric and moves towards the door. "Night."

Puck nods to her and looks back down at the scripts, grabbing one and laying back. His hand fumbles around on the nightstand until his hand grazes his cell phone and sends off a text to Rachel, asking if she can talk. He's not exactly sure what all they have to do after a show but it's been a few hours so he assumes it's safe.

Rachel stares down at her phone.

_Noah: Can we talk?_

She sends him a text back and moves to sit on the porch of their apartment. Bringing her knees up, she sets her chin on them while clutching the device in her hand. It's been weeks since she's turned it on. There's text messages telling her how amazing she is doing from her family. Voicemails from relatives, even frantic ones from the night that her and Puck broke up. There's so much she missed but she's having a hard time caring. A few seconds later, her phone starts to ring and she sits back, staring at Puck's name flashing.

"Hello?" She practically whispers.

"Hi Ray." Rachel closes her eyes and pushes the tears that want to slide down her cheeks away. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"I've been better if I'm being real fucking honest with you. You were amazing tonight."

"Thank you. It'll be torture to wait until tomorrow night to see if I'm safe. I haven't exactly been the popular choice." Reaching down, she plays with the hem of her sweatpants.

Puck leans back on the bed, setting the script aside while closing his eyes. It feels so good to hear her voice again. "I'm sure you'll move on. Your performance was fucking hot."

She laughs nervously and stares out into the darkness. It's quiet on both of their ends besides the sound of them breathing quietly.

"Look…I'm sorry."

Puck can hear her swallow nervously. _"There's no reason to be."_ His stomach clenches at how broken she sounds. "Yeah there is. Matt left you because of his job and I did the exact thing except ten times worse. He told me not to hurt you, but I fucking did it anyways."

Rachel knows how hard it must be to say that he's sorry. But... "Wait, what? When did you talk to Matt?"

"He ended up showing us around the studios when Finn and I were in Wilmington." Puck stares up at the ceiling. Honesty has always worked out for them. Except that one night. "But I'm really fucking sorry about it baby."

Rachel glares out into the darkness, her eyes narrowing into slits even though Puck can't see her. "You should've told me you talked to him."

"Rachel, there's a lot I should've done differently. Like listened to you when you felt weird about Holly." He sits up and looks at the window. "I fired her."

"Why?"

"She was using Quinn to try and get to me. Basically made up the whole publicity thing to get you and I to break up." He barely hears her mutter out an _well it worked _before he moves on "Finn scheduled a meeting with the director tomorrow to tell him that we've called the deal off. Quinn announced it when we were on a talk show the other night that we're just friends. Even apologized and shit for fucking up a lot of stuff."

"That's good. And I'm glad that Holly is gone."

"Finn's got some meetings set up to find a new publicist. I'm going to need one."

"I think she was damaging your career without you knowing it." Rachel sets her legs down on the ground, crossing them and thinking about how Holly acted when they were all around.

"Holly ruined a lot more important things than my career."

"Don't say things like that Noah, your career is important to you."

"Rachel, she ruined us." Puck can feel his throat burning a little bit. He doesn't talk about feelings. "You think I wanted that to fucking happen?"

"I don't know! You made it seem like the easiest decision in the world to leave me. Do you know how exhausting the last few weeks have been? I've barely been able to sleep I'm so stressed out and heartbroken! I swear I have at least twenty knots in my back because I'm so tense." Rachel huffs into the phone, sending her new bangs flying and tries not to cry.

"Baby, you're tense? I can help you relax."

Rachel could practically hear his smirk on her side of the conversation. "Are you trying to hint at phone sex?" She whispers and looks around to see if any of the other contestants are near.

"Uh, yeah. Don't you miss me?"

Her heart clenches. She tips her head back and looks up at the sky. "How can you ask me that?"

Puck lays back down and rubs the heel of his hand over his right eye. When he asked her that, it was supposed to be in a teasing way, but the way she responded… Feeling like a jackass was the only thing that crossed his mind. "Do you?" He asks hesitantly.

"Of course I do. More than you know."

"Then let me help you Ray."

"I really shouldn't. Someone could come out here at any time."

"Fuck Rachel. Just relax, I can feel your tension through the phone."

She stretches her legs out so her feet are resting against the railing, slouching a bit so she's a little more comfortable. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one is in the living room, she shakily lets out a breath. "This is highly inappropriate you know. We're not even together."

"Just breathe baby and slip your hand into your panties."

Letting out a huff, her right hand slides down her stomach over her shirt then down into her sweatpants. Slipping past her panties, her finger slides along her wet folds. Rachel isn't even sure how she can get so wet just by hearing his _voice_. A small moan escapes her mouth and she bites her lip while Puck laughs quietly.

"Feel good?" His hand runs over his cock while he listens to her irregular breathing. "That's it Ray. Slip two fingers in and curl upwards."

"It does."

"Move them faster." Puck gets up and closes the door before pulling his dick out.

She can't even believe the whine that comes from her throat but as she comes around her fingers, Rachel really doesn't care. Her breathing is labored but then she can hear that Puck is breathing just as hard. "Are you?" Her voice trails off while he breathes heavily in her ear.

"Mhm." He licks his lips. "God Rach, I miss you."

Rachel's eyes look down at the shirt she's wearing, his high school one that she stole when he first went away. "I miss you too," she admits quietly. As soon as Puck is coming in her ear, her posture straightens as she looks around. "Noah…"

He closes his eyes and leans back against the pillows. "Fuck." Puck mumbles quietly. It feels like so much is off his shoulders. The release and being able to tell Rachel how he feels.

"I need to go. We have to wake up early and get ready, then we have rehearsals."

It hasn't even been five minutes but he can already hear the tension back in her voice. Puck sighs and tucks himself back into his gym shorts. "Yeah alright baby." He sits up and runs his head over his shaved head. "Hey, you're doing so fucking amazing up there. And I swear I'll prove it to you that we should get back together. I meant it when I said she ruined more important things than my career."

"That's good to know Noah, but I need to focus on where I'm at right now." Rachel bites her lip nervously while he responds.

"Yeah, alright. Sleep well Rachel. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Noah."

She moves towards her room, ignoring everything that everyone is doing around the apartment. Holly isn't in her bed, so Rachel flicks off the light and curls up in the comforter. Hearing Puck's voice was both amazing and painful. Now she feels like she's back at the beginning of the competition, but with the promise that he's going to work hard to get them back on track stuck in her mind.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Finn walks into Rachel's room and eyes his best friend reading through a script. There's a cup of coffee on the nightstand that is moved next to the bed in the middle of the room, while his cell phone is opened up to an email on top of a bunch of other papers on top of the quilt.<p>

"Hey man."

Puck looks up and smirks at Finn. "Sup?"

"Meeting in half an hour. Are you ready to go?"

He nods and marks his place in the script while scooping up his phone. They make their way to his car and Puck's not even pissed when Finn messes around with the radio stations. Traffic isn't awful and they make it to the director's office with five minutes to spare. But what he saw when they got into the waiting area outside wasn't anything he expected.

"Puck. Finn." Quinn stares at them and looks around nervously. "I didn't know the two of you were going to be at the meeting too."

"We didn't know you'd be here either, so I guess he wanted us to both be present." Finn returns coldly.

The door opens and they all sit down in front of Quentin. The man takes a deep breath and stares at them quietly. They're all honestly too scared to say anything to him. Puck assumes that Holly called and talked trash about himself and Quinn, but he's not even sure what's going to happen.

"Well, everyone knows that you two are just friendly co-workers."

Quinn sits up and looks at her director. "It's all my fault. Puck has been under a lot of stress and I don't think that a fake relationship would've been a good idea for much longer."

Puck glances between the two, ready to speak up before his director speaks.

"To be honest, the whole thing seemed very _odd_ when Miss James brought it up. But I went with it because too much publicity for the movie is never a bad thing. However, she kept insisting that it's a good idea then told me that you and your girlfriend had broken up so I didn't think anything of it. Tell me Puck, when did you two call it off?"

He glances down at his shoes. "That afternoon after the meeting. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the decision."

Quentin blows out a breath before bringing his hands together and leaning on his desk. "I am very sorry for the distress this may have caused you. Obviously trusting her opinion wasn't very smart. The good news is, we did receive great publicity for the movie. If it's alright with the two of you, I'd still like for you two to hang out in public _as friends_." He emphasizes on the last part, glancing between his actors.

"I think that sounds reasonable. Puck? Quinn?" Finn turns towards them. The two of them nod their heads.

"Great! That's all for now. The press junket is in a few weeks so please be prepared for that. Have a great day."

They all leave the office and walk towards the door. Finn leaves to give them a few minutes alone.

"Look, I meant what I said Puck. I'm really sorry about everything that happened."

"Don't worry about it. Shit happens and-" he hesitates. Even though Holly is out of the picture, Puck's going to have a hard time trusting Quinn. But this is the most emotion he's ever seen her give since the beginning of hers and Finn's relationship. "I talked to Rachel last night." He shoves his hands deep into his pockets.

"Really?" She smiles. "That's great. How is she?"

"Stressed out." Puck shrugs.

"I see." She smiles and looks down. "I've been voting for her."

Puck laughs. "That's awesome. Look, I gotta go to some meetings with publicists, but hey, if you showed everyone this side of you then it wouldn't be so bad."

"Thank you Puck." Quinn smiles gently and hugs him awkwardly. "I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, Brittany and I are getting lunch tomorrow. You can come with us."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Our director wants us to continue to be seen together as friends and you could show Brittany this new side of you. It's a fucking win-win."

"Okay thanks. See you later." Quinn waves and walks towards the front doors.

* * *

><p>Puck pulls into the parking garage of his PR building and looks over to his friend.<p>

"We've got two interviews. You'll need to make a decision today, but I think it's a good idea if we stay with the same company." Finn stares at him pointedly.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's get this shit over with." Puck gets out of the car and walks towards the elevator with Finn trailing behind.

After stepping out from the elevator, Finn leads the way to an office where the meetings are supposed to be held. Puck glances around, wondering if Holly is going to secretly pop out of nowhere and make his life a living hell even more. But as they turn around a corner, he can see her yelling at her father in his office. The older man catches Puck's eyes and gives him a sympathetic look before looking back at his daughter. That made him move faster next to Finn.

The two of them move into a conference room where a woman with dark brown hair is sitting, staring intently at her phone. Finn moves to sit while Puck takes a seat directly across from her. He tilts his head while looking at her. And the fact that she looks oddly familiar is unsettling to him.

"Hello." She looks up and moves to shake both of their hands. "I'm Shelby Corcoran."

"You're one of the best publicists here right?" Finn puts his phone away and leans forward, setting his elbows on the table. "We need the best from now on because I _don't_ need someone trying to fuck up Puck's career. Again. I don't know what type of mess that Holly would have or has caused."

"That won't be a problem. The best publicists here include myself and Emma. So you'll have no issues with anything like with Holly." Shelby smiles and leans back in her chair.

Her and Finn start to discuss business but Puck takes a good look at her. That's when it hits him. "Hey Finn, mind if I have a minute to talk with Shelby?"

Finn looks at him oddly before nodding and heading out the door. "Ten minutes till our next appointment."

Puck sits back in his seat and narrows his eyes at her. Shelby looks at him a little uneasily, sitting up straighter. He licks his lips and lets out a deep sigh. "How long have you been in LA?"

"A few years. I moved here from New York. The company I was working for before was getting a little too dramatic for my taste."

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with Rachel Berry?"

She freezes and stares at him. "How did you know?"

"You two could practically be twins if people looked hard enough. Does she know you're here?"

"No, and I'd like to keep it that way." Shelby looks at him with her jaw tense and arms crossed over each other.

"I take it you know that we've been dating?"

"Not from what I've seen in the tabloids lately." She lifts an eyebrow at him and smiles.

"Look, I love her. And this isn't the shit I need when I get a new publicist. Especially when our relationship could affect Rachel."

Shelby hesitates before meeting his eyes. "She doesn't know what I look like. We've never met even though the contract stated that we could when she turned eighteen."

Puck frowns and leans forward on the table. "But you do."

"Yes."

"Well that'll be on her terms. But because if _I_ could easily tell who you are, then she probably will too. I'm sorry, but I can't hire you."

"That's understandable. It was lovely to meet you. Big fan." Shelby grins and shakes his hand.

"Thanks. But if you decide that you want to be a part of her life, make sure you're going to stick around. Because I can't stand the thought of you coming around just to leave her instantly."

Puck stands up and nods at Shelby before walking out into the hallway. "Hire Emma."

"But you haven't even interviewed her. What's wrong with Shelby?" Finn tries to keep up with his friend while they walk towards the front of the building.

"Just do what I say Finn. Fuck." He gets into the car and gets ready to head back to the girls' condo.

* * *

><p>The morning of Valentine's day, Rachel wakes up and stretches. She hates to admit that ever since she talked to Puck last week, sleeping has become so much easier since the first night she got here. Holly is sitting on her bed with her laptop open, a towel on top of her head while she goes through entertainment news. Reaching idly for her phone, Rachel pulls it in front of her face and smiles.<p>

_Noah: Happy Valentine's Day. I love you. Kick some ass tonight. _

Since today is Valentine's Day, they figured going for a romantic theme this week would be a good idea, so they had a bunch of love songs to pick from to perform tonight. After sending out a quick text back to Puck, Rachel stands up and yawns, moving to sit next to Holly.

"Um…" Holly glances at Rachel before trying to close her browser.

"Wait, is that…" She looks at the screen to see pictures of Puck, Brittany and Quinn all eating at a restaurant with Puck's arm hanging off the back of Quinn's chair. Her heart aches, thinking she let him back in but he's still with Quinn even though he's fired Holly.

"Rachel, it could be something else. I mean, your friend is there. Don't you think that's weird? You told me that they don't like Quinn."

Pushing the tears away, Rachel stands up and grabs some clothes from her dresser. "I was an idiot for focusing on something other than the competition."

Holly sighs. "You're jumping to conclusions."

"Do you blame me?" She moves towards the bathroom, running into Blaine on the way there. "Sorry."

"Hey." He puts his hands on her shoulders, looking at her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Blaine. But that kiss was a mistake…" Rachel licks her lips and shifts to her other foot. "We can only be friends."

"Yeah, that's fine Rachel. But are you sure you're okay?" He squats slightly so he can look into her eyes. Blaine doesn't care if she just wants to be friends but she has the same expression on her face that she had when they first got to the apartment.

"I'm fine Blaine. I just needed to get that off my chest." Smiling at Blaine, she steps to the side to go into the bathroom to get ready for the rest of the day.

He watches her move into the bathroom before walking into her and Holly's room. He sees the blonde laying against the headboard with her jaw clenched. "What's with Rachel?"

With a roll of her eyes, she opens the laptop and turns it so it's facing the man next to her. "I told her she's probably overreacting. But you know she doesn't listen to a damn thing I say."

Blaine sighs and sits next to his other competitor on the bed. "She's stubborn as fuck. But you know Puck is her weak point."

"Yeah, I know." Holly sighs and tosses her towel away.

Puck wakes up and moves to the kitchen in the condo, seeing Brittany and Santana sitting at the table drinking coffee. Pouring his own cup, he sits at the head of the table and drops a script in front of him before rubbing his temples.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Brittany grins and moves to hug him. "We know Rachel isn't here, but we pulled our money together and we _might_ have taken some from Rachel's emergency stash so that it could be from her too." She hands him a small box and smiles.

"You guys didn't have to do anything." He stares down at the box.

"Oh stop. We know how tough everything has been for you and we've been bitches. So just take the damn thing or else I'll take it and give it to Finn or Mike." Santana raises her perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him then drinks her coffee.

He opens up the box, a shiny white gold watch staring back at him. "Britt…San…Thank you." Puck looks up at them with a genuine smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" Brittany's smile instantly brightens when he nods and puts it on. "I'm so glad! We have to get ready to go on our dates with Mike and Finn before we go watch Rachel, but we'll meet you back here okay?"

"Yeah sure." He watches as Brittany runs to her room but Santana stays and stares at him. "The fuck are you looking at me like that for?"

"Are you alright?"

"Is _the_ Santana Lopez asking if I'm okay?" Puck laughs and stares at the watch. "I'm alright."

"Look I'm a bitch, but today is the day of love or whatever and since I can't take care of my best friend, you're the next best thing."

"Gee, thanks San." Puck rolls his eyes.

"New script? One for an audition or production?"

"This one is an audition that Finn thinks I'd be good for. But I think I just want a project to work on. Be here when Rachel's done with her show and tour." His finger traces the rim of his mug. "Can I tell you something? Knowing that you'll keep it to yourself."

"What? We're having some sort of heart to heart or something?" She laughs and tips her mug back to her lips.

"I saw Shelby."

Santana stares at him, unblinking. "Shelby, as in…"

"Yep."

"Rachel told you her name?" She says uneasily, looking over her shoulder to make sure Brittany isn't near. "Where the fuck did you see her? Why did you see her?"

"It turns out she works at my PR firm. She moved here a few years ago, probably when Rachel joined the team. I could see where Rachel got most of her looks from." Santana stands up and starts to pace. "I told her to stay away from Rachel unless she decided she wanted to be in her life for real."

"You said that to her?"

"Uh yeah." Puck stands up and moves to the kitchen to rinse out his mug.

"You really care about her."

"Haven't I made that fucking clear by now?"

Santana holds her hands up defensively. "Sorry, that's my bitch coming out." She sighs. "She'll realize that you're all she wants, regardless of how bad you fucked up. Just don't lose hope."

Puck smirks at Santana before she moves down the hallway towards her room. He sighs and looks around the living room then back at his script. "Some fucking Valentine's Day." Grabbing the script, he pads down the hall into Rachel's room then looks around. It's such a mess with clothes still laying around along with his duffel bag in the corner in her chair. Then there's all the scripts he's been looking through on what's usually his side of the bed.

* * *

><p>Brittany walks into the studio where Mike has been rehearsing for the show. He's got his head phones in while moving to what she can only assume is their routine for the week. When he makes a turn and sees her, Mike grins then takes her hands, leading her into a waltz. Her head tilts back and she laughs.<p>

"Mikey." Brittany hugs him close then kisses him chastely on the lips.

"I miss seeing you all the time." He pulls her in close then sits down by the mats in the corner of the studio, grabbing a small box out of his bag. "Happy Valentine's Day Britt."

"You didn't have to get me anything." She opens it and sees a shiny bracelet. "It's perfect! Can you put it on?"

"Sure. How's everyone doing? I swear I only have time to sleep nowadays. Do you think Rachel feels this way too?"

Twisting her wrist in the air, the blonde grins before holding his hands. "Good I think. It helps that we're all talking to each other now. She probably does." She sighs but nods. "Where's Chelsea?"

"She went to go take a break and get lunch with her boyfriend. It is Valentine's Day. I'm not that much of an asshole." Mike laughs and moves to pull out the lunch he made them earlier that morning. "It's not much. I'll have to make it up to you whenever I'm done with the show."

"This is more than enough." She moves closer and kisses him. "I get to see you actually awake instead of just sleeping next to you."

As they start to eat their food, Mike swallows and stares down at the ground. "How's Puck?"

"This morning he actually looked like himself again. I think he talked to Rachel last week after her show. Me and San gave him a watch for Valentine's Day. Well most of the money came from Rachel's emergency money." She grins and pulls out a box, handing it to Mike.

"You didn't have to get me anything babe." He opens the box, revealing a brand new video camera.

"I figured it could help Chelsea with her routines or something."

"Thanks baby. So he's been sleeping better?" Mike looks up at her. He's been really worried about Puck but he hasn't had time to talk to anyone about it.

"He's been sleeping at the condo in Rachel's room."

"What?" He laughs.

"I know it's weird. Lord Tubbington sleeps on the floor by the bed in there. He's been really worried about Puck and he misses Rachel a lot." She pouts.

"Tub will be fine. I promise Britt."

"Oh I know. I just want Puck and Rachel to be happy again. Together. Do you think they will when she gets back from the show?"

"God I fucking hope so. He's never been a wreck like this over a girl."

"That's good news!"

Mike stands and laughs, holding his hand out. "Want to work on the routine with me?"

Brittany jumps and grins. "I miss dancing with you."

* * *

><p>Puck walks towards the studio with Brittany, Finn, Santana and Sarah. Rachel's best friends giggle and run up to Rachel's dad, Nathan, who is leaning against the wall. As they go inside, Puck stops and holds out his hand.<p>

"Sir."

"Puck, it's Nathan. Please." The older man retracts his hand and pulls out some cigarettes. "Want one?"

"Yeah." Puck takes it willingly then lights it up. "Just so you know, I never smoke unless I have to do it for a movie."

"You wouldn't look bad even if you did. Look at me, Rachel and Allen want me to quit. Honestly, they make me sound like I smoke a pack every day."

He laughs and flicks his ashes. "She cares about everyone."

"More so for you." Nathan flicks his ashes off too. "I know my daughter pretty well."

"And I love her. More than anything and I hate to think that the first time I met you and Mr. Berry that I completely fucked it all up. Everyone hated me."

"Rachel can be a very forgiving person. Just give her time."

Puck smirks. "We talked after her show last week. It felt so good to hear her voice." He keeps his eyes trained on the ground.

"You've fallen for the Berry charm." Nathan laughs and elbows Puck in the ribs before putting out his cigarette. "Allen did the same."

Laughing along with Rachel's dad, Puck puts his cigarette out too. "Yeah, I guess I have." He smiles and holds the door open for the man.

Nathan slaps his hand against the younger man's shoulder. "Don't worry son, she'll forgive you."

He stands and watches the man walk inside towards their seats. Son. That shouldn't sound as good as it does, considering he should be scared shitless of her dads right now. Puck follows him in quickly, being forced to sit between Nathan and Brittany. There's an obvious love theme going on inside and on the stage. All the judges are wearing _something_ that has red on it, including the host.

Shortly after they're all seated, the show starts and the nine contestants that are remaining come onto the stage. His eyes are instantly drawn to Rachel in a red sequence dress and black high heels, moving around and singing on stage. It's mostly a bunch of sappy love songs that he doesn't care about and it's really clear to him what the 'theme' is for this week, song wise. Now he's extremely nervous about what Rachel will be singing when it's her turn to go.

Half an hour into the show, Santana's getting a tad impatient. The best thing that could happen right now, in her opinion, would be for Rachel to come on stage before she can go back to Finn's apartment and give him the rest of her present. And luckily, a few seconds after the commercial break, Rachel walks onto the stage. Her eyes lock with her best friend's as she anxiously looks over before licking her lips and smiling at the judges. Up on the screen, her video is playing that she recorded earlier in the week. Santana notices that in the video she looks way happier than she does on the stage. Glancing to the right, she can see that Puck notices too.

_This song is traditionally sung by an amazing man, but I'm going to put my own feminine twist on it. I might have had to change some lyrics. Hopefully it'll all work out._

Puck looks at the screen as it plays and she talks. Her smile reaches her eyes again and he wants to think that he has _something_ to do with it. But now she's on stage, getting ready to perform and her smile is tight. The crowd starts to clap and he realizes that the host just announced that she's about to perform. As the band starts up, Rachel looks down at the ground and licks her lips. Puck honestly can't recall what the song is (especially since he didn't hear the host say the title) until she sings the opening verse. His heart clenches instantly.

This Juliet is bleedin'  
>But you can't see her blood<br>It's nothing but some feelings  
>That this old dog kicked up<p>

It's been rainin' since you left me  
>Now I'm drownin' in the flood<br>You see I've always been a fighter  
>But without you I'll give up<p>

I can't sing a love song  
>Like the way it's meant to be<br>I guess I'm not that good anymore  
>But that's just me<p>

Santana watches as Rachel sings, but only looking towards the cameras. Glancing to the right again, she notices Puck's jaw is clenched and his eyes look pained. She whispers into Brittany's ear and quickly changes places with the blonde before taking his hand into hers. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye then looks down quickly before looking back at the stage. Something has to be going on with Rachel because she hasn't looked their way at all. Santana knows her best friend pretty well even though they have barely talked since she left. His hand squeezes hers tightly as Rachel belts out the last verse. During the last line, her eyes dart over to theirs then down to their joined hands before the song ends. Santana's heart clenches as Rachel swipes away a tear then grins at the judges. All she wants to do is storm up on that stage and hug her. Everyone around them is standing up and cheering loudly. It's hard to believe that Rachel is always towards the bottom of the pack when it comes to revealing who gets to move on to the next round.

Both of them stand up and clap while the judges try to quiet everyone down. As always, she gets amazing comments from each of them and a compliment from the host before she's off stage and out of their view. There's only a few more songs that they have to listen to. Blaine singing _Silly Love Songs_, Sunshine singing some Celine Dion song, and Jesse singing _Your Song_. Puck and Sarah are the first ones to say goodbye quickly before going to his car.

"That must've been torture to listen to." Allen grabs his husband's hand before looking at the car leaving.

The Latina sighs and wraps her arm around Finn's waist. "Probably. But she was singing with all her heart. I could tell."

"Rachel always sings with her heart San. She just must still be hurting. Lord Tubbington told me so." Brittany smiles before glancing at the clock on her cell phone. "I need to get home. I was going to make dessert so that Mike could have some before bed when he gets home from practice." The blonde moves and hugs Rachel's dads before heading to her car.

"They'll work it out San." Nathan smiles before leading his husband away.

"They're right baby. Plus they're both adults and they can work it out once she gets done with the show." Finn tucks her hair behind her ear and gives her his lopsided smile.

"If they don't, then we're getting involved. You owe me anyways." Santana smirks as they move towards his car.

His brows furrow. "What do I owe you for?"

"For thinking she was stupid to be that upset over everything for Puck's job. Since it was the plan to get them to break up all along."

Finn sighs and opens her door. "I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil. On Valentine's Day."

She laughs and leans over to kiss him once he's in the driver's seat. "That's because you did baby. There was a reason everyone called me Satan in high school."

* * *

><p>Sarah follows Puck into their apartment, him flopping onto the couch while running his hands over his face. Her cell phone starts to ring so she fishes it out of her purse before perching on the arm of the couch next to her brother's feet.<p>

"Hello?"

"_Is this Sarah Puckerman?"_ A feminine voice floats into her ear.

"Yes it is." She pushes at his shoes and smiles.

"_This is Elizabeth Hawthorne, Connor's mother." _

Her eyebrows furrow and she looks over at her brother. "Oh, hello Mrs. Hawthorne."

"_Listen, my son has told me about you and I feel that it's important that you know this…" _

She sits up and reaches out for Puck's hand. He glances at her before sitting up. "Is something wrong?" Sarah asks quietly, chewing on her bottom lip afterwards.

Sarah hears his mother sniffle. _"Connor is being transported to a hospital in Germany." _

* * *

><p><strong><em>-<em>**_Song, Always by Bon Jovi. Made some changes so that it fit with a woman aspect. _

_Ugh, you guys I'm so sorry that this took forever and it's all sorts of sucks. And I know the thing with Shelby seems _way_ random, but I wanted to show that Puck still has Rachel's feelings on his mind and that he's protective of her.  
><em>

_Anon- Ha, I didn't even bother to think of where they shot those shows! I just kind of thought of who I could probably write the best. But thank you for mentioning that! I'll def keep that on my mind. And I like your suggestions, so I'll def have to keep them on my mind. Thank you for reviewing!_

_Mika- Your email address didn't show :( but thank you so much for the review. I'm glad you like it!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Mistakes are mine.**

* * *

><p>Sarah is gripping her brother's hand hard while she tries to understand what Connor's mom is saying into her ear. Puck looks at her worriedly. <em>"We don't know anything specific because what he does is classified. We just got a phone call from his platoon leader saying that he's being transported to a hospital in Germany even though they wanted to announce it in person. His father and I are going to try and find out if we can go see him."<em>

"How bad is it?" She asks quietly.

"_As far as we know, a few gunshot wounds. But they haven't said how bad any of them are or where they're located. It could be a lot worse than we are imagining and it could be much less than that." _

"Is he going to be okay?" Tears stream down her face. She vaguely registers Puck wiping them away.

"_I don't know honey, they didn't say anything about it. I'll call you as soon as we find anything out. I know that he would want all of you to know." _

"Thank you for calling me."

"_Not a problem. We'll talk soon." _

She hangs up the phone and moves onto Puck's lap, crying into his shoulder. He closes his eyes and hugs her to his chest before reaching for her phone. Puck would use his phone to text everyone but she's currently sitting on his lap and he refuses to reach underneath her ass for it. Sending off a quick text to their friends, he sets the phone down and hugs her tightly. It'll be easier to get her calm before asking what happened. It's obviously got something to do with Connor. Luckily Finn, Santana, Brittany and Mike are staying in his building tonight so they're over within a few minutes. They all walk in and see Sarah crying.

"What happened?" Mike looks at Puck before guiding Brittany to sit down with his hand on the small of her back.

"Something's happened to Connor. His mom called Sarah a few minutes ago." Puck smoothes his hand over her hair.

"Should we try and get Rachel on the phone so she can hear too?" Brittany looks around at everyone, landing on Puck last before she raises her eyebrow.

"Yeah, someone call her. You gonna be alright to talk Sarah?"

The younger Puckerman nods and pulls away to wipe her cheeks while Santana dials. "There's no answer." She huffs and dials again, putting it on speaker phone.

"_Hey San._"

"Hey Rach. Listen, we got some news that Sarah is gonna tell us about. You're on speaker babe."

"_What's wrong?"_ They hear some shuffling in the background along with a door closing.

"Connor's mom called." Sarah wipes her cheeks and moves to sit next to Puck, setting her head on his shoulder. "He's being transported to a hospital in Germany."

Santana curses in Spanish, looking down at the cell phone in her hands. She looks back at Puck with tears prickling her eyes.

"_Did she say what happened?" _Rachel asks quietly.

"It's classified apparently. But she said they were going to go try and see him. They'll call when they find anything out."

"How bad is it?" They all look to Brittany.

"A few gunshot wounds." Sarah looks down at her lap.

There's a loud banging sound and they all jump. Rachel is talking quietly before they hear some scratching. _"Guys, I have to go. Sarah, you _know_ how strong Connor is. He'll pull through. We all just need to think about him. Please call me if there's any update on him okay?" _

"Of course Rach. We'll talk to you soon. Love you." The Latina looks over to Finn. He stands up and moves towards her, running his hand through her hair.

"_Love you all too. Goodnight." _

They all sit there quietly, the sounds of the girl's sniffling filling the room. Puck stands up and runs his hands over his head. He huffs and tries to not let his mind linger on everything that's going wrong right now. Someone has to be strong for all of them, right? "Okay, so dinner…"

"I just want ice cream." His sister looks up at him.

"Um, okay. Black cherry chunk?" Sarah nods. "What do you guys want?"

"Mint chocolate chip." "Cookie dough." Brittany and Santana say at the same time.

Puck makes a face and looks to the guys. "Beer."

He nods at the other men and grabs his keys. Puck leaves out the door to get everything that everyone wants. Once he's in his car, he punches his steering wheel and runs his hand over his forehead. Fishing around his pocket, he pulls out his cell phone and dials Rachel's number.

"_Noah?" _

"Hey." He looks down in his lap and messes with his keys. There's a stupid Mickey Mouse glove keychain that Rachel bought him when they were down at Disney hanging off the key ring. His thumb absently runs over it.

"_Are you okay? I know you probably want to talk to him. Or see him. I can't imagine what you're going through right now." _

"I'll be fine once I can talk to him I guess. Is…" He sighs and takes a deep breath. "Is there _any_ way that I can see you right now? I really need to."

Rachel stares down at her comforter. "You can't." She sniffles and wipes her cheek. "And I'm so sorry Noah, but we shouldn't talk until the show is over. I need to focus on myself right now. If there's any news about Connor, please just have San or Britt call me." She ends the call and lays down, staring at the wall.

The call ends suddenly and he pulls his phone away from his ear to stare at it. Puck sighs and starts the car.

About an hour later, he walks into his apartment, arms full of groceries. Brittany, Mike and Sarah are sitting on the couch, the two girls cuddling close together. Santana is sitting on Finn's lap in the arm chair. Puck moves into the kitchen and scoops out the ice cream then grabs some beers. He hands the right items to all the right people before coming back and setting pizza and Chinese onto the coffee table. His bottle of whiskey sits next to the pizza box.

Finn looks over before grabbing a slice of pizza. In fact, they're all staring as Puck downs three shots before reaching over for a slice of pizza. He sighs. All of this has to be harder on his best friend because of everything he's gone through the past month and a half. It doesn't seem like it'll be getting any easier any time soon.

For the rest of the night, all of them just stare at the TV while a movie plays with the volume muted. No one talks. No one changes the channel. Eventually Sarah falls asleep.

"Finn? Can you take her to her room?" Puck asks quietly, breaking the silence in the room.

"Yeah, of course man." They both disappear into her room. Santana, Brittany and Mike all exchange looks.

"I think we'll head out too. I have practice tomorrow and the girls have a team meeting."

Puck nods and stuffs his hands in his pockets. Finn walks back out after quietly shutting Sarah's bedroom door. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yep."

Santana eyes the whiskey bottle warily while Puck moves to lay down on the couch. "You go ahead Finn. I'll be over in a minute." Everyone say quiet goodnights and leave, but she kneels next to the couch. "What happened?"

"What makes you think something fucking happened? Other than what we've already established."

"You look like someone ripped your heart out and set it on fire. Then threw it over a cliff. Your eyes look completely dead and I know you haven't looked _that_ hurt since you and Rach broke up…" She drawls out then stares at him. "You talked to her."

"How can you read me like a damn book? It's creepy." He slightly slurs.

"Because we're almost exactly alike Puck. What did she say?"

"She doesn't want to talk until the show is over." He sits up and runs his hands over his face. "I don't even know what the fuck I did wrong." He sighs. "This time. I obviously deserve the karma or whatever the hell it is that I'm getting."

Santana sighs and squeezes his hand. "Once you two see each other, everything will be different. When you can touch again. I know Rachel pretty well."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight Puck." Santana pats his cheek. She hates seeing everyone so broken. Everyone may think she's a bitch but when it comes to her family, she doesn't want anyone messing with any of them. Even if they are hurting each other.

* * *

><p>Brittany walks into the locker room with Santana to her side. All the other girls are there and yawning. None of them are used to being here this early anymore. Plus with everything that happened last night, the two of them are just feeling restless. The blonde leans against Santana and stares at the office door where Will and Shannon are supposed to be coming out of soon.<p>

There are hushed conversations being whispered around the locker room as to why they're there so early but then silence falls upon the room as Will and Shannon finally enter the room. The women in the room all sit up a little bit straighter when Will clears his throat. "Good morning, Ladies. I know it's early but we've got important team business to attend to. As I'm sure you all know, tryouts are starting soon and I want to see each and every one of you in tip top shape because I'm sure that we will have plenty of new girls trying out thanks to the recent publicity of Rachel dating Noah Puckerman and of course their subsequent break up."

Santana could feel the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand up when she realized where this conversation could be headed and she had to fight her natural instinct to start yelling as soon as Will spoke again.

"Speaking of Rachel, we have to consider the possibility that she won't be coming back due to her being on _American Idol," _he casts a wary eye over at the Latina that has her fists curled but Brittany's hand on her arm in an attempt at calming her down. "I know we all don't want to see her go but it's something we need to be prepared for."

"Will's right, Ladies," Coach Bieste chimed in. "Now Rachel is an amazing wide receiver and Tina is more than capable of filling her shoes but that doesn't mean there isn't someone better at it out there and if that happens then I don't want to hear any," she looks pointedly at Santana, "arguments because our decision is final. That being said, hopefully Rachel will be able to come back and we can have another amazing season."

There are hoots and hollers throughout the locker room. As Will hands out some papers, Shannon continues to speak, "This here is your training schedule. I know you're all going to go through tryouts again just to show the other girls that we're the best but there's no reason why you shouldn't go in with your best foot forward. Make sure your diets are back on track and I expect to see you all in the gym starting this week to make sure you're ready." She looks over at Will to see if he has anything else to say.

"That'll be all for today, Ladies. Have a good day."

Brittany remains seated and looks over the schedule. This doesn't interfere with her schedule at the dance studio or with Mike and Rachel's shows. Really, it's exciting that they'll be getting back to training soon. Playing football was always such a good distraction and stress relief for her. For all of them.

"I didn't even think of replacing Rachel on the team." Santana speaks up.

The blonde looks over and furrows her eyebrows. "Neither did I. We don't have a choice. We've won two years in a row, do you really think we have a chance without Rach?"

"Maybe?" The Latina shrugs. "Have you thought about switching to wide receiver? You're fast enough."

"But I could possibly be taking that away from Tina."

"Tina could take your spot. She's done it before."

They both sigh and stare at the practice schedules in their hands again. Now that they have the training times both of them can go back and tell their jobs when they'll have to be leaving for the season coming up. The two of them eventually stand with a last look at Rachel's locker, wondering who'll be replacing it by the time the season starts, and head towards Santana's car. When they get back to the guys' building, both women hug each other tightly for a few minutes before Brittany smiles and walks out to her own car. Santana quickly drives off and goes to her building where she's been interning with Bryan Ryan.

Brittany pulls up to the dance studio and quickly moves into the building. She moves past all the classes that are in session before walking into an empty ballet studio. Her eyes close slowly while she takes in the silence. After everything that's happened the past two months, all she can wonder is how everything got so screwed up. How so many things could just keep happening to their group. She's not set to teach a class today but all she wants is to be in Mike's arms. There are days when she absolutely hates that he's on the show.

Abruptly, she takes off her shoes and throws them into the corner of the studio with a loud huff. The thud echoes through the room as she sits on the ground and pulls her knees to her chest, crying silently. The person she wants the most is Rachel but she's not answering her phone unless it's about Connor.

Santana leaves the office to go back to Finn's apartment before Rachel's elimination show tonight. She enters the apartment and drops her things into the chair before moving towards his office. He's leaned back in his seat looking at his laptop screen while chewing on a pen. The Latina moves over and sits on his lap.

"Hey baby." He smiles sadly and rubs her back.

She just smiles and looks around the room. This isn't something she's used to, wanting to talk to someone about how she's feeling. What she normally does is show how she feels. It's what she's best at. Santana reaches for Finn's hand and stares at the ground. Normally she can be tough in these types of situations, only because Rachel would be the one freaking out in front of her and she could comfort her instead of just sitting around and thinking. But no one was doing that. Well maybe Sarah would be doing that, but as far as she knows, the girl has been in her room all day. Finn is the one that she should be able to talk to though. So why does she feel so scared to say anything?

He watches as she looks around. Finally she's about to say something, only to close her mouth again. Finn runs a hand through his hair, effectively messing it up a lot more that it already was, causing Santana to laugh a little. He smiles sheepishly at her before picking her up bridal style and heading to his room.

As they both lay down, Finn on top of her, they start to lazily kiss. "Everything will be fine San."

"I know." She avoids looking into his eyes, running her fingers across his collar. "This shirt is ugly as shit."

Finn laughs. "Tell me how you really feel."

Her smile fades instantly. "It's hard to talk about how I really feel."

"Shit, that's not what I meant. I was talking about my shirt…" He braces his forearm by her head so he's not letting his weight crush her. "I know this is hard. Connor's awesome and Rachel isn't here." His fingers lift her chin lightly so they're looking at each other. "But everything will be fine." He emphasizes again.

Santana nods and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her body.

* * *

><p>Puck wraps on filming for the week on the show, walking back to his trailer. The red head is leaning against the counter, staring down at her phone with her wide, bright eyes. She glances up and smiles warmly at him before putting the device into her purse.<p>

"How was filming?"

"Great." He gives her a genuine smile. "It's always nice to slip into the life of someone else for a little bit." Puck picks up his phone and frowns that there's not any type of news waiting for him.

"There's only two episodes left for your character arc. But then you'll have some free time until the press junket for your movie."

His eyebrows furrow as he turns and looks at her. "Really?"

"Yes. So of course you can continue going to see Mike and Rachel's shows. Maybe go to a premiere or two. There's a bit of time for the relaxation that seems much needed at the moment." Emma smiles sadly. He's informed her of everything that's happened recently.

"Actually, I was thinking of trying to start a new movie." He rubs the back of his neck nervously. Other than Santana, he hasn't really spoken to anyone about it.

"Are there any roles that you were interested in? Finn has informed me that you've been looking at scripts." Her eyes perk up at the possibility of something good happening for her client.

"Um, more like trying to produce one. I found a script I really like and I'd actually like to help bring it to the bring screen. It isn't one that was sent over to me by Finn, but rather a friend of mine who is a director."

"That sounds lovely Puck. It'll be good for you." Her phone rings and she holds up a finger. "Oh, it's my boss. I have to get going and answer this. We'll talk soon about your idea for the movie okay?"

"See you later Emma." He watches as the woman answers the phone and scrambles out the door while trying to balance her purse.

Puck grabs the script for next week's episode before grabbing the rest of his things and leaving the trailer.

He drives over to the condo, even though he knows he should check up on Sarah. But he knows his sister well and she will come to him when she's ready. Plus she has to work tonight with Finn so they won't be at the show. Opening the door, Puck looks into the kitchen then the living room. It's eerily quiet. Both Brittany and Santana's doors are open so he knows that they're not in there. He respects their privacy.

So he moves into Rachel's room and looks around. His clothes are gone since he actually had to do some laundry and all of her clothes are back into their proper places. Puck moves towards the bed and pushes it back against the wall then collapses on top of it.

There are so many things running through his mind. Why would Rachel not want to talk anymore? He knows that she's under a lot of stress with the competition and on top of that everything with Connor. The thing that's driving him absolutely insane is what he could've done to upset her even further. He's done everything he can to try and prove to her, the best that he can considering they can't see each other face to face, that he's sorry for fucking up so bad. Work wise, everything has been the best it has been since he started in this business. Emma is a much better publicist than Holly ever was. Puck has never felt this good about the direction his career was going, granted he messed up with the whole Quinn thing. Everything _feels_ right, just not complete. Not without Rachel.

Lord Tubbington comes in, meowing and causing Puck to look down. He smirks and picks up the cat, setting him on the other side of the bed. They both close their eyes and take a nap before he needs to get ready for the show.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Kurt watch as Rachel paces back and forth by the makeup counter set up for her. Every now and then, she'll stop and look like she wants to talk, only to start pacing again.<p>

"Oh my Gucci. Please stop! What is the matter with you?"

She stops abruptly and stares at them. "I'm nervous Kurt!"

"We get it Rach, but you're making _us_ nervous."

Rachel looks at Blaine and sighs. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried."

She moves to sit down in front of the mirror where someone comes over to work on her hair. At this point, she'd welcome going home. There are so many things she'd just rather to do right now. Finish up her room so she can just sleep for weeks on end in her bed which is much more comfortable than the one in the apartment. Hang out with Brittany and Santana, just eating in the living room and feeling like everything is back to normal. Then knowing how Connor is would be the cherry on top of everything.

Due to the stress and everything weighing in on her mind, she absentmindedly runs her hands through her hair only to receive a glare in the mirror from the woman doing her hair.

"Sorry," she mumbles and sets her hands underneath her thighs. Rachel takes in a deep breath and releases it slowly.

Blaine looks over as he's being called. "We'll talk later." He looks at the petite woman before moving away.

"Spill. What's going on in your mind diva?"

"It's chaotic in my mind. You don't _want_ to know what's going on."

"Rachel, we're friends. You can tell me anything that's on your mind." Kurt pulls a chair up next to hers and crosses his legs.

"I told Noah we shouldn't talk until the competition is over. And our friend Connor got hurt in Afghanistan. I feel like I'm going to be sent home at any given moment. But maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing. I could go on the tour and still play for the LFL."

Kurt sits up and stares at her with a mad expression on his face. "Are you giving up?"

"I don't quit. I never have." That's a lie, the only time she gave up was when she ended things with Puck and ran away, but Kurt doesn't need to know. "But it seems like America doesn't want me to be here."

"They're all idiots Rachel! And you've made it this far. You still have a chance, so stop. Change your attitude and fight for it. Show them you're not scared."

She smiles just as the woman finishes her hair. "Thank you Kurt."

An assistant comes out and gathers all of them up to get near the stage. Rachel shakes out her hands to calm the nerves, hoping to quiet her brain too.

Time flies and suddenly it's the end of the night. She's standing center stage next to Sunshine. The small Asian girl is gripping both of her hands tightly while their host talks. Rachel tries to control her breathing, but her eyes glance over towards her family. Santana is sitting next to her dads and Puck is sitting next to the Latina. But she doesn't expect to see two blondes sitting together talking. Why would Quinn be there and sitting next to Brittany? She quickly shakes her head and remembers what Kurt said. She told Puck that she needed to focus on herself and that's what she intends to do.

A surge of confidence bubbles up inside her and Rachel stands taller, gripping the smaller girls hands tightly in her own.

"And the person going home tonight is…" The petite brunette closes her eyes and tilts her head down. She just wants to focus on his voice and nothing else. "Sunshine Corazon."

Rachel releases a breath and opens her eyes. There are people booing in the crowd but she hugs the girl tighter before walking back over to Holly, Blaine and Jesse. The blonde pulls her into her side while Jesse pats her shoulder and Blaine patting her thigh. She dares to look over to her family. Santana and Brittany are talking animatedly to her dads. She wishes she could hear what they're saying. Her eyes drift to her ex-boyfriend. Puck's sitting there, leaned back in his chair and his ankles crossed, hands stuffed into his pocket with a small smile on his face. He winks at her then breaks eye contact, laughing at something Brittany says before the blonde leans against his arm.

* * *

><p>Not the best and it was short, sorry guys. The next one should make up for it.<p>

_Allisonerica- You're my 250th reviewer. If you can, PM me a prompt for a drabble/one shot :)_

Also, ShadowKitty22 wrote the locker room paragraphs. Thanks so much for the help!


	19. Chapter 19

**Much thanks to Shadowkitty22 for Betaing this and making sure everything made sense. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Still don't own anything, except my mistakes.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>All of them can hardly believe that they're sitting in the audience for Rachel's final performance in the top 3. The last performance before the finale next week. Just a few days ago, they were watching Mike competing for a chance at the mirror ball trophy, only to be sent home the next night. It wasn't bad for his first run through the show so they ended up going out and getting completely trashed to celebrate how far he got.<p>

Puck is mostly surprised that they're singing full length songs now, but if he had to guess it'd probably be because of the producers trying to get them used to singing more than two songs for their concert coming up. And now it's a commercial break. He's slouching in his seat and barely registers that everyone is talking around him, ready to see Rachel up on stage again and talking about how she nailed her producer's choice song that they revealed earlier this week. The song was announced at the LA Temptation field where all her fans and family got to come see her. Puck was happy to see her again but she avoided him most of the time. Rachel probably had her reasoning, he assumes, but that doesn't mean it hurt any less.

The last song that all the contestant's are performing tonight, had to be from a previous American Idol winner, so they're all curious to what she picked. She's not even on stage getting ready, so he's guessing she's backstage so they'll all be shocked.

"Are you glad the finale is next week?" Quinn asks from beside him as he sits between her and Nathan.

"Yeah," he answers smoothly.

For the most part, all of them had accepted that Quinn screwed up and it was all Holly's doing. Even Rachel's dads once she explained everything. The person that would be the hardest to convince would be the woman who's about to take the stage. Apparently, the blonde already had a plan to tackle that obstacle when the time came. Puck didn't want to ask any questions, frankly, he just didn't care until it actually happened.

"Rachel will listen to you Quinn, don't worry. Our baby girl has always listened to reasoning." Allen looks over and smiles at her after she's done talking then looks at Puck. "She'll listen to you too, son, so wipe that scowl off your face."

Puck scowls even harder at the older man before giving the stage his full attention as they come back from the commercial break. A clip of Rachel is playing, her explaining her song choice. He honestly doesn't hear any of it because he's too busy staring at how amazing she looks.

Ryan announces Rachel and her song choice, which he honestly doesn't even recognize, but as the music starts, he instantly sits up in his chair. There's stairs leading down to the stage in the center and she starts to march down them almost in time with the beat. Her hair is curly and slightly unruly, the way it looks _right_ after sex, a white tank top that he can definitely see her black bra through, a black leather jacket, short as hell black leather shorts and black leather boots running up her calves. She's got hot smoky eyes and Puck curses under his breath as his pants tighten. This woman is going to be the death of him. And he swears that her dads are freaking out beside him by the way all the guys have started to cheer in this place.

As soon as her boots hit the floor of the stage, she raises the microphone to sing the opening lines of Adam Lambert's "If I Had You." The choice of mostly all leather in her outfit seems appropriate for the line in the song "_the right amount of leather_."But Rachel intentionally keeps her eyes away from the section that's seating her ex-boyfriend, because she _knows_ that when she does, he'll understand how hurt she was by the entire ordeal before she left for the show. Now isn't really the time to think about it all though, even her choice of clothes which she might be regretting a little bit now, while she's walking up to the microphone stand and setting it on there with a little more force than necessary. Rachel taps the heel of her right foot along with the beat on the snare drum then closes her eyes momentarily. When the chorus comes up, she still ignores the pair of hazel eyes that she can feel burning into her skin.

Puck watches as she sings, her tiny hands gripping the microphone stand tightly while she sings the chorus. She might as well take the damn thing and throw it through his heart because he feels like complete shit. Once she's done with the chorus and the music moves into the next verse, he watches as she moves across to the other half of the stage, completely owning it and singing to the people there. The music slows down to broken down lyrical sentences and she moves across until she's standing right in front of them. His eyes slowly meet hers.

Rachel moves until she's standing right in front of Puck. Their friends and her dads look between the two as the music slows down even more. She crosses her right ankle in front of her left, standing almost innocently as she holds the microphone in both of her hands.

_That would be the only thing I'd ever need  
>Yeah if I had you,<br>Then money, fame and fortune never could compete  
>If I had you,<em>

As she sings the last line and the music picks back up, he watches as she moves towards the center of the stage and moves down in front of the judges to the small wall behind them, singing to the rest of the crowd. She's completely into performing after their little 'moment' they shared.

He really can't wait until this show is over so they can sit down and have a real conversation.

When she finishes, he can basically sum up the judges critiques of her as the best performance yet that she's ever done on the show. Rachel smiles brightly and blows a kiss out to the crowd before moving off stage. Puck stands and stretches his arms above him before leaving with everyone. He's either got a day or a week to finish up everything he needs to do before Rachel gets back. Mostly a lot of work so that he can have the free time in order to fix things with her.

* * *

><p>The next morning Rachel wakes up and stretches her body out on her bed. It's just her and Blaine in the apartment now, even though he had the option of taking one of the other empty ones down the hall from this one. It just felt better knowing that they could walk outside of their rooms and talk to each other if they really wanted to. Jesse is all by himself in one, savoring that he's alone so he can practice his song or style his hair perfectly. Half the time she has to wait for either of them to stop messing with their hair long enough for her to squeeze in a shower.<p>

Throwing her comforter off and swinging her legs over to the floor, Rachel stretches again and moves to the closet to pack her suitcase with the exception of a week's worth of clothes just in case she gets sent home tonight. The TV is playing quietly down the hall while she packs and her cell phone is currently on silent on the nightstand. The nerves are filling every inch of her body slowly as she thinks about what will be happening tonight. Every elimination she's been nervous but this is the big one. The final two. Honestly, every time she thinks about how far she's gotten, Rachel can hardly believe it. It feels amazing to have the support that she does.

* * *

><p>As Puck leaves his office at the company he works for, he can't help but grin at how his meeting went. His friend, who originally sent him the script, is more than happy to direct it since the script caught Puck's attention. Although he'll have all of his premiere shit coming up, the planning is the most exciting part to him. Watching auditions instead of being in them, coming up with a schedule, and drawing the story board. It's all invigorating no matter how much he might say in a few months that he can't stand it. Every project can get frustrating. But this is the exact thing he needs to help him get out of this funk he's been since Rachel has been gone. God, he loves her more than he could <em>ever<em> explain to anyone (and considering he's never felt like this before, he knows she's his endgame) but these past few months have been absolutely draining on him. Sleeping is still an issue, although, not as much as it used to be.

When he gets to his building, Puck marches straight to Finn's door instead of his own. This is business and his most important partner in everything he does, is his agent. The man is sitting on the couch, watching entertainment news and sipping a beer.

"Isn't it a bit early for that?"

Finn smiles lopsidedly and shakes his head. "Whatever man, you'd be doing the same thing. Not like I have anything to do until the show tonight."

Puck smiles and sits down in the armchair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and stares at the table.

"What's going on?" He sits his beer down on the table and looks over at his best friend.

"I found a project to work on. But I want to focus all my energy on it, so don't plan anything too extreme for me."

"Really?" Finn perks up and grabs the bottle before leaning back into the couch. He mutes the TV and sets the remote further down on another cushion. "That's great."

"I think it'll help you know?" He doesn't do emotions. But that's been changing a lot lately since Rachel came into his life. Puck looks up as Finn nods.

"Totally get it man," he sighs and picks at the label on his bottle.

"I've just been in a rut." Puck leans back in the chair and runs a hand down his face. There's a little more scruff there than he usually likes that he needs to shave off. "I need to feel inspired or some shit and this script has totally done that for me."

"No, dude, that's awesome. It's good that you want to work on something since you've finished filming."

"I feel like such a pussy. Needing to be inspired?" Puck scoffs and tilts his head back. He hates feeling like this. This feeling hasn't really inhabited his body since his dad left, but sports and figuring out his major in college pushed him through that. All he wants is to feel good again. Even if Rachel may not want to get back together with him, which he really doesn't want nor to think about, this would be a step in the right direction.

"You just need something positive to happen. We get it. And none of us will be pissed at you."

Puck looks over at his friend and smirks. "Wanna hear about the script?"

"Uh, yeah?" Finn smiles and kicks up his feet on the coffee table, leaning back into the couch.

Down the hall, Sarah opens the fridge and stares at its contents. She sighs and makes a mental note to go to the grocery store. Her phone starts to wail from inside her bedroom, so the younger Puckerman slams the door shut before jogging down the hallway. It's an unknown number, but calls get made to her like that every day, so she doesn't think anything of it.

"Hello?"

"Hey sweetheart," Connor's voice fills her ear.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she tries to keep her tears away. "Connor?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"You sound tired," she breathes out and lies down on her side.

He sighs over the phone. "It's pretty early here, but it's also been a rough couple of weeks. I'm sorry I couldn't call until now. Trying to get back into shape and all."

"No, it's fine. Your mom called and told me how you were. But you're doing better? Everyone's been so worried about you."

"I've been better. I'll be heading back to my platoon soon." Connor smiles and runs a hand over his outgrown hair. It feels good to hear Sarah's voice again.

Sarah bites her lip and closes her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I thought it'd be better if I told you myself."

She sits up and walks towards the front door, but leans against the wall for a second. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Connor whispers. He clears his throat, "So tell me, how's Rachel doing on the show? And Mike?" He settles back into his bed and sets his arm behind his neck to use as a pillow.

"Mike got eliminated this week, third place though, and we find out if Rachel makes it to the final two tonight or not. And we got to see her earlier this week for her hometown visit. They liked it when she sang rock songs so they picked an Aerosmith song for her. Steven Tyler gave her a standing ovation. Can you believe it?"

"That's amazing. I can't believe I'm missing fucking everything." Connor sighs noisily and curses under his breath. "Sorry, I just feel useless in this bed."

"You're recovering, so don't worry about it. Would you like to talk to my brother? I think he's at Finn's place."

"That'd be great."

Sarah pushes herself off the wall and walks down to Finn's front door before pushing in. She sees her brother laughing and smiles to herself. "There's someone that would like to speak to you Noah."

"If it's ma, tell her that I'm still trying to talk to Rachel. I love how she's more of a priority than her own son is," he mumbles to himself.

"It's a certain Marine that's gotten attached to you, for whatever reason." She hands him the phone and flops down next to Finn.

"Hawthorne?" Puck smirks into the phone before standing up and moving into the kitchen. "How the fuck are you, man?"

"A lot better than I was. Ready to get back to work man."

"You are some sort of dedicated."

Connor laughs. "Kind of my job, Puckerman. But I love it."

"Yeah, yeah." He leans against the counter and stares down at the ground. "Did you get Sarah's care packages? I know she's been sending them like crazy whenever she gets the chance. Better yet, did she sign my fucking name in them too?"

"Yeah, she signed your name. I don't know why though."

"Hey, I paid for some of that shit too," Puck states defensively.

"Anyways, I sent the stuff that I couldn't really use to the guys in my platoon. They needed hand warmers and chapstick more than I do."

"That's fine and completely understandable." Puck leans and looks out at his sister laughing along with Finn at something on the TV. "So, what kind of injuries did you have?"

Connor knew this was coming. "One skimmed my leg but mostly my Kevlar caught the others."

"But you're in the hospital. There's something you're not telling me."

"You can't tell Sarah."

"Of course I wouldn't. You think I want her freaking out about it? She's fucking worried but shit, you're my bro. You don't want me to tell your shit, I won't."

He takes a deep breath and moves the arm from underneath his neck to over his eyes. "One got my left shoulder, hit a blood vessel so I was bleeding out pretty bad. But they got it patched up and whatever, slowly working it so that I can move it again and get back to Afghanistan. Another skimmed my right arm but it's just a flesh wound."

"Jesus," Puck mutters and leans back against the counter."

"Yeah, but anyways. How are you holdin' up?"

Puck laughs and runs a hand through his short hair. "Better. I'm working on something new, so I've got that going for me."

"Good to hear Puck. I, uh, got some letters from Rachel while I've been here." Puck grunts and tips his head back against a cabinet. "She's been saying she's ready to get back home."

"Did she say why?"

"Not directly. I think she just misses everyone. But fuck, I don't blame her. I miss everyone too."

"You'll both be back soon enough. Just suck my sister's face off in front of me."

Connor laughs loudly, "Yeah, alright Puckerman. Shit, I gotta go. Can you hand the phone back to Sarah?"

"Yep. Good to hear from you. We'll see you in a couple of months."

Puck hands the phone to Sarah and she waves at them before walking back to their apartment. He tips his head back while Finn watches TV, hoping to get a nap in before heading to the show to see Rachel.

* * *

><p>All of them create a line in their row of seats, holding each other's hands while the three finalists are standing in the middle of the stage, waiting to find out who will be the first one to make it into the finale.<p>

Nathan Berry holds his husband's hand tightly as the host talks about whatever he's going on about. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears, effectively tuning everything else out. Brittany's knee is bouncing up and down while she nervously chews on her lip, the blonde eyebrows furrowed as she stares up at the stage. Everyone's reaction is in one way or another similar to hers. Allen seems to be the most nervous though, biting his finger nail then moving on to another one once it gets too short.

"Would you stop that?" The heartbeats are now out of his ears while the sound of Brittany's tapping foot is louder.

"I'm sorry Honey. As much as I want to see her win this thing, I really just want to hug her. Can't you see how tense her shoulders are from here?"

He laughs lightly and pats the man's hand. "You got to see her earlier this week when they picked the song for her. And yes I can see it, but she'd be so happy. It's just one more week if she moves on."

"Then we'll be going back to New York. We've been here all this time, working from the apartment and we'll barely get any time with Rachel."

"But we got to see her perform in person, which is more important." Nathan smiles at the man next to him before looking up at the stage.

Rachel stands in between Blaine and Jesse as Ryan _finally_ moves to announce the first person who will be in the final two. She smiles gently, trying to push away all of her nerves. Honestly, she doesn't know how the men on either side of her are holding it together so easily. The entire day they've just smiled and talked about random things while she's been trying to keep busy. Even Kurt ran away from her when she was sitting in hair and makeup, saying he can't afford wrinkles this young.

She can hear the little seal on the card being torn to her left and averts her eyes to the piece of paper sitting between the host's fingers. "After 85 million votes, the first person who will be moving on to the final two is…" he drawls out and pauses for dramatic effect, causing Rachel to try and not roll her eyes. "Rachel Berry!"

A little sigh of relief escapes her mouth as both Jesse and Blaine hug her tightly. Ryan hugs her next before directing her over to a pair of stools sitting on the right hand side of the stage. Rachel looks over at her family and friends, who are cheering very _loudly_, and blows them a kiss before wiping away a tear. She turns on the metal stool and looks over at the three men standing at center stage.

"Now, the person that will compete against Rachel in the top two is…" Ryan drawls out again. "Blaine Anderson!"

Rachel laughs as the man jumps up and down a little bit before shaking Jesse's hand and giving him a half hug. He moves over and she jumps up, hugging him tightly as they end the episode with their competitor singing his final song. Their arms are wrapped around each other's midsection before they clap and move over to hug him again.

* * *

><p>Puck looks in the mirror as he redoes the knot in his tie while Kurt is standing against the bathroom wall, staring. "Will you stop fucking doing that?"<p>

"Do you need help?" the smaller man asks.

He slams his hands down on the counter and counts to five so he won't yell. "I know how to do my tie. I just can't do it with you staring at me!" Puck regains his composure and goes back to the piece of fabric around his neck. "So, uh, how's Rachel doing?" He glances up and meets Kurt's eyes before reaching over and grabbing his vest.

"She's nervous. And she has been talking my ear off just to try and have something to do instead of pacing around. You know, she kept telling me random facts about musicals that I already know!" Kurt huffs and moves to stand next to the counter.

Puck laughs and thinks back to when Rachel would tell him random facts about whatever movie they were watching that she picked out at the time. "Sounds like the Rachel I know." Kurt's face softens as he smoothes the fabric over Puck's shoulder. "Has she said anything about me?"

"Not really, not since Valentine's Day at least."

"Do you know why she just, pulled away so suddenly?"

The shorter man hesitates before looking into Puck's hazel eyes. "I can't say."

"Why the fuck not?" Puck buttons up his vest and leans against the door frame.

"Girl code," Kurt says easily.

"You're a dude."

"Doesn't matter. I can't tell you and if she wants you to know, well, then she'll tell you herself." Kurt stands his ground and crosses his arms over his chest. "Now do you have all the brands memorized in case they ask you who you're wearing?"

"Yeah," Puck mumbles and moves out into the living room to grab his shoes.

Sarah looks up at the two men entering the room and smiles warmly. "Don't you look handsome."

"I know," both of them say at the same time before looking at each other.

Kurt raises an eyebrow before moving over and kissing Sarah's cheek. "You look lovely my darling, but now I must go see if Rachel is ready." He momentarily closes his eyes, inwardly berating himself before looking over at Puck, "I'll see you two later. Don't forget those designer names." The shorter man moves towards the door before looking at the younger Puckerman, "You too."

She blows him a kiss right before the door closes then looks to her brother. "Ready for tonight?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"What if Rachel doesn't win? I don't want to see her heartbroken." Puck knows what those big brown eyes look like when she's sad and he doesn't want to see that on stage, where millions of people will be watching.

"She's strong, Noah. It'll be fine. Maybe she'll come running into your arms for comfort."

Puck rolls his eyes and moves to put on his black shoes. "I highly doubt she'd come running to me. Maybe San or Britt. Or Nathan and Allen."

"Have some hope you pessimistic jerk." Sarah kisses his cheek then grabs her clutch. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Rachel looks around and smiles at all the cameras on the red carpet for the finale tonight. Kurt picked out an amazing dress that's black lace with beige underneath then slicked back her hair into a tight pony tail. She feels beautiful and confident, considering what's going to happen tonight on the show. People are asking her all sorts of questions, but a bunch of girls screaming causes her to look to her left. Puck steps out of a car, followed by her friends and dads. They're all dressed in formal attire but she can't help but linger on how her ex-boyfriend looks. The smirk in place with his aviators perched on his nose, hands stuffed in his pockets. Her heart begins to beat furiously in her chest as she tries to tear her gaze away from him.<p>

"Hey," Blaine shocks her and she turns around quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." His gaze moves over to where she was looking, just seconds before.

"It's fine. I shouldn't have been daydreaming."

"Oh? So now we've moved on to daydreaming about the hunky actor?"

"You are awful Blaine Anderson."

He shrugs and smiles. "I happen to be appreciative of both male and female bodies." Blaine sighs and puts his hands into his pockets. "Tonight everything changes."

"Are you nervous?" Rachel sputters, her eyebrows raised while she looks at him.

The man scoffs and turns to walk down the red carpet, towards the area where they want the both of them to pose with each other. "I haven't been nervous this entire time." Rachel sets a hand on her hip and stares at him pointedly before smiling at the cameras. "Maybe a little."

Rachel laughs and hugs Blaine tightly. "We'll be fine."

Puck walks down the carpet with Mike to his right and Finn to his left. The girls stopped with Rachel's dads to answer some questions. "Mr. Puckerman!" He turns and looks at a man who is waving his hand at them.

Finn hangs out behind them both and Puck moves his glasses to the top of his head. "Hey," he holds his hand out to shake with the reporter.

"So it's the big finale tonight. Who are you rooting for?"

Mike scoffs beside him, but let's his best friend answer. "Rachel, of course."

"Is it because she's your ex-girlfriend?" The man looks between the two and lands his gaze on Puck.

His jaw ticks before he smirks. "I'm supporting her because she's an amazing woman and singer. She's done amazing on the show so far. Her family, friends and I are extremely proud of how far she's gotten on the show along with all the support of the voters who have gotten her here. Rachel deserves it all."

"We've heard that you're in the starts of a new project. Can you tell us more about it?"

"I would love to, but at some other point in time. Tonight is Rachel's night and I'd rather not steal the spotlight from her. Thanks for your time."

Puck slaps the man's shoulder before moving down the red carpet again.

"She'll come back to you after she sees that interview," Mike says before the both of them stop to take a few pictures.

"What makes you say that?" He flips down his sunglasses as they wait for the girls, Finn and Rachel's dads to catch up.

"Think about everything you just said. Instead of promoting your new movie that you're producing, you said you didn't want to take the spotlight from her. That's love, man."

"I hope you're right, Chang. I hope you're right."

* * *

><p>Brittany sits down in the seats that they've been sitting in all season long, gripping Mike's hand while swinging her legs back and forth, nervously. Even though her boyfriend didn't win the mirror ball trophy, she's extremely glad to have him back. Soon their little group will be back together again and the blonde can only hope that everything will be fine.<p>

But now she's sitting there in a pretty dress, waiting to come back from a commercial break. So far it's only been an opening number and some previous American Idol contestants singing. They're getting ready for all of the top twelve guys to come out and perform a medley of some sort. She leans her head onto Mike's shoulder, nuzzling his neck.

"I'm just ready to know if Rach is gonna win or not."

"Not too much longer, Britt. We're about half way done with the show I think." Mike squeezes her hand tightly before looking back up at the stage.

The music starts up and the group of guys come out. Rachel watches from the wings of the stage as the guys dance around and act like a bunch of drunken guys who are at a karaoke bar. Except that they're much, much better. Jesse is currently center stage, singing his heart out even though he was so close to getting to the final two. Holly walks up next to her, a hand on her hip as she laughs at everyone on stage.

"They're all crazy," the blonde laughs out when Dave runs out onto the small wall behind the judges and finishes singing, then all the other men joining them too.

"Tom Jones suits them all though. And they're having so much fun."

"We kicked their asses when we performed our medley. We're much sexier than them. Plus, Lady Gaga owns Tom Jones." Holly shrugs and moves her gaze back out onto the stage.

Rachel laughs at Holly then looks back out as Blaine starts to sing the final song. All the men are doing the Carlton dance, then she searches the crowd until her eyes land on Brittany and Santana. The two of them are dancing in their dresses, making everyone around them laugh. Even Puck. He looks so happy, happier than when she saw him last week inside of the Temptation field. She looks back over when Blaine announces Tom Jones and the man walks down the stairs to center stage and finishes singing "It's Not Unusual" with Blaine with all of them singing back up as well.

Before she knows it, Rachel is standing in front of the judges, holding Blaine's hands in her own. She's sure that her hands are sweating but her competitor doesn't say anything about it, just smiles at her before looking to the judges then back to Ryan. All they want to know is who the winner is. And she's ready to go back to her comfy bed and sleep.

"We had the highest number of votes for this elimination, than in the entire history of American Idol, with a thousand votes separating the two." Rachel gasps and looks into Blaine's eyes. He laughs lightly then looks back at their host. "America, are you ready to see who your new American Idol is?" he shouts and watches as the crowd gets to their feet and cheer.

They squeeze each other's hands as he tears the seal off the envelope, pulling the piece of paper out. She can hear the deep breath he takes before pulling the microphone to his lips. "And your new American Idol is," he drawls out and looks from the camera to them, "Blaine Anderson!"

She instantly loses her poised stature but quickly smiles and hugs Blaine tightly. "Congratulations, you deserve it."

He kisses her temple and hugs her close. "Thank you Rachel, but you deserved it too."

Rachel holds him arms length away before everyone else comes over to hug Blaine, confetti falling all throughout the air. Soon enough he has to go away to sing his winning song as Rachel hangs out with everyone else, swaying to the lyrics and music filling up the theater. She looks over and meets Puck's eyes. His hands are tucked into his pocket as he stares at her instead of watching the winner walk out towards the crowd to his family. That's what she should be doing, but she's not. Instead, she's standing on the stage as the runner up and she doesn't even get to sing a last song.

Rachel smiles sadly before looking away and clapping as Blaine finishes his song.

* * *

><p>The day that Rachel gets to come home, she's beyond ecstatic. Even though she'll still have to put her room back together from the way she left it. Her bags are packed from the apartment for the show and she's about to leave when she turns back and looks at the room she's spent the past weeks at. Blaine is already gone because of all the press he's having to do today. Rachel leaves and closes the door, moving to where her cab is waiting to take her back to her car. It's going to feel amazing to drive again after being chauffeured around.<p>

After the brief drive home and blasting music in her car, Rachel stands in front of her front door. Taking a deep breath, she sticks in her key and slowly opens the it. There's nothing but silence in the condo as she walks in. She leaves the suitcase and her purse in the living room then notices that it's completely dark down the hallway to their rooms. Stopping in front of her door, she takes a deep breath and sets her hand on the door knob, twisting it until it opens. To say she's shocked that it's not a mess would be an understatement. The bed is pushed back against the wall where it was before and her dresser is now painted the teal color that she had picked out. Rachel opens up the drawers and sees that everything is perfectly placed to how she had it before. On top holds her pictures frames and other random objects that she had there too. The thing that she notices that should've been the focus of her eyes when first entering the room is sitting in the corner above her chair. A corner shelf with a DVD player and a small flat screen TV sitting on top with a vase of baby pink peonies next to it. Drapes are now on her windows along with the blinds that were there before that match her newly painted dresser. Tears are building up in her eyes before finally turning around and looking at the bed. There sits the fabric headboard that she was working on before Puck came to the apartment that day, with gold, silver, brown and blue flowers on it and a new beige quilt. She spots a note on the pillow then crawls onto the bed, laying on her stomach.

_Rachel,  
>I know that you were wanting to do this yourself, but since you were gone away on your show, I figured I would do it for you. Hopefully you like everything. Happy Belated Valentine's Day Ray. I love you.<br>~Noah_

She opens up the drawer on her nightstand and places the note inside before standing up to go retrieve her things from the living room. Her suitcase is now by her closet while she digs through her purse for the journal she's been using the past few months. Inside is filled with lyrics she's been writing, the accompaniments that she made for the songs that were done on the show. But now new words are coming to her mind while looking around her new room. The quiet isn't something she's used to anymore. Her life for the past few weeks have been chaotic and will go back to being that way until she starts her tour in the summer. Most importantly, she needs to talk to Will. She starts a small to do list in her margin while thinking of the music notes that she wants to write down.

After writing a few lines of lyrics, Rachel opens up her drawer and looks around for her LFL contract. The front door opens and closes quietly before she hears footsteps coming towards her door. She glances over and sees Puck leaning against the frame, looking at her with a pained expression and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hi," Rachel says quietly. Puck nods his head and walks into the room then sits on the other side of the bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Everyone's busy working and I wanted to see how you were. Make sure you got home safe and sound or whatever."

"I'm fine." The petite brunette looks down at all the paper in front of her. "And you?"

"I'm alright," Puck says indifferently before leaning back against the headboard. "I'm really fucking proud of you."

"Second place isn't all that great," her voice still quiet as she plays with the pen in her hand.

"You beat hundreds of people. I think you'll get enough credit for making it that far. Plus you get to go on the tour, so that's fucking exciting right?"

She laughs and tucks a strand of hair behind her hear. "I also got a recording contract."

"No shit?" Puck looks over at her and grins.

Rachel nods and bites her lip before grabbing the notebook and setting it on her nightstand. She's not exactly ready to share any of that just yet.

"What's that?" He nods at the item she put away.

"It's just a bunch of songs that I've been working on. Maybe they'll make it onto my CD."

They both sit there quietly as she flips through her contract and Puck looks around the room he's spent so much time in for the majority of this year. He glances up at the TV and crosses his ankles. "What do you think of the room?"

"It's beautiful, Noah, thank you."

"I owed you. For all the shit I put you through while you were gone." He shrugs.

"No, you didn't," she gets cut off when he puts up his hand.

"Trust me, I want to talk about all of that but not on the day that you come home. There's just one thing I want to know."

Rachel turns so she's facing him and sets her hands in lap. Her eyes meet his hazel ones. They look so tired than how they're normally filled with mischief. "What do you need to know?"

"What the hell happened on Valentine's Day? I don't understand why you just suddenly pulled away after you told me you loved me too." Puck stands up and paces in front of her bed. Normally she's the one who acts all antsy, but this is completely new for her, with him. "I get that you had to think about yourself. Especially after everything that's gone down. But Connor is fine and he'll be home in a couple of months. No one's fighting anymore except for you and me."

"We're not fighting." Her eyes drop from his gaze from where he stopped at the end of her bed, looking at her with sad eyes. "I saw a picture of you, Brittany and Quinn at lunch that morning after I woke up and sent you that text. I thought that maybe you…"

"What?" Puck moves and sits directly in front of her. "I told you that I loved you, why would I change my mind? Especially within a few hours? Our director just wanted us to just be seen as _friends_ out in public. She even has a plan to explain to you everything that happened and to apologize personally. I want to be with you."

She takes a deep breath and sighs. "We just need to work on being friends first. When we started to date, we never really started with that, we just jumped straight in."

"If that's what it takes then fine." Puck stands up and bends over to kiss her forehead, both of their eyes closing at the contact.

"Thank you Noah," Rachel says and looks up at him. "This is what's best for the both of us. For now at least." He's about to leave when she abruptly stands up. "Noah?"

"Yes?" Puck turns around and stares at her.

"Can you not tell anyone I was looking through that?" She motions over to her LFL contract sitting on the bed.

He nods and walks out of her room.

* * *

><p>-(Mika)- Hey! So you're email still isn't showing up, but I'd be more than happy to help you. Try setting up an account then you can PM me.<p>

-Rachel's fabric headboard/new bedspread: cdn . decorpad . com /photos/2008/05/14/39a561487727 . jpg

-Rachel's final performance song was _If I Had You_- Adam Lambert, and then of course Tom Jones- _It's Not Unusual. _All credit goes to them!


	20. Chapter 20

_Still don't own anything, but mistakes are mine. Thanks to all of you for still reading this though. Hope you like the chapter.  
><em>

* * *

><p>It's mid-summer now, late June to be specific, and Santana is glad for the most part. Puck has been doing all the press and premieres for his movie while Rachel has been touring around the country with American Idol for their big top twelve concert. Her and Brittany have been practicing and training, trying to get used to being back on the field before tryouts in a few weeks. Mike has been busy, back at his studio now that they've been getting even more students, all thanks to him being on Dancing with the Stars. Finn and Sarah have been busy with their own work, the latter working even more with Connor's homecoming quickly arriving. They were all completely busy.<p>

But now they're all back in LA for Rachel's final concert, with the exception of Connor, and then they're having a big dinner afterwards. Santana knows that her best friend will be filming a music video soon and that's how she ends up here, in front of Finn's apartment, unlocking the front door then storming into his office.

"Hey babe," Finn says as he turns in his chair, only to be met with the fiery Latina with her hands on her hips.

"We need to talk," she says sternly.

His eyes instantly widen. "Um.."

"I'm not breaking up with you," Santana rolls her eyes and sighs. "Look, Rachel is somehow convinced that she's over Puck and we all know that is a straight up lie. They can act as friendly as they want, but I can feel the sexual tension radiating in the room. You're her agent. I _know_ that she has a music video coming up in a few weeks and that they're looking for a male lead." Finn averts his eyes, becoming suddenly interested in his mouse pad. The Latina snaps her fingers until he's looking back at her. "I told you that if they didn't get back together on their own, that you were going to help me. Now this is what you're gonna do. You're going to convince Puck to do it, not knowing that it's Rachel's video. Got it?"

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Alright."

"Glad we're on the same page, Baby."

Finn laughs and rolls his eyes before turning in his chair to type up an email to the director saying that he has someone in mind for the part and to hold it for him. Puck's never done a music video so this could actually benefit him. Not that he'll tell Santana that because the last time he did, his ass got handed to him and he's _still_ paying for it.

* * *

><p>Rachel moves down the hall until she's standing in front of Puck's door. She fidgets and stares at it until she slowly brings her hand up, knocking a few times before stepping back. In her heart, she knows that it's smart to talk about everything that they've been avoiding so it's not awkward when they're around everyone, but now, hearing the heavy footsteps coming towards the door really just makes her want to run back to the elevator to escape it all. This was a bad idea.<p>

The door opens and her eyes meet the familiar hazel ones that she's been missing for months.

"Rach?" Puck stares at her before moving aside, motioning for her to come in.

"Hello, Noah. I thought it'd be best if I came over so we can talk." Rachel sits on the couch, as far away from him as she possibly can, before setting her purse on the table.

"Why are you talking so fucking proper?" He feels slightly offended that she's acting like this is a business meeting instead of two 'friends' just hanging out.

"I'm sorry," she fidgets and bites her lower lip. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Just blurt out whatever's on your mind and we'll move on from there." Puck stands up and moves towards the kitchen, grabbing two beers in hopes that it'll calm both of their nerves.

"Is Sarah here?" Rachel blushes as their fingers touch for a second before quickly taking a sip.

"Work," he says gruffly before turning his body towards hers.

"Why?" she asks quietly.

Puck closes his eyes and takes a swig from his beer. He hesitates before swallowing thickly. "Be more specific, Rach, so I can give you the answers that you want."

"How was it so easy for you to pick work over me?" Her eyes meet his again.

His eyes fall as his finger nail scrapes at the label and he tries to pick his words carefully. Any explanation he gives will either make or break them. "Up until we started to date, all I had to do was think about work and myself. There wasn't a need for me to factor in anyone else's feelings when it came to something I was told to do. So when the director and Holly suggested it, I just reverted back to old habits." Puck quickly looks up and meets her eyes, tilting his head so she won't start ranting at him. "And yeah, that sounds super shitty. But fuck, that's what I was used to. So when I went to tell you and I saw that look on your face…" he trails off and closes his eyes. "Back when that happened," he pauses so that it can fully sink in, "I didn't realize that I was making a huge fucking mistake Rach."

"But we were together for five months, Noah. I factored in our relationship when I was going to leave for the show. Why was it so easy for you to just forget me when it came to your job?" Rachel is trying to keep her tears away, but she can feel them threatening to fall out of the corner of her eyes. "If you felt like you made a big mistake, then why didn't you say anything?"

"How could I?" he stares at her incredulously. "Your fucking phone was off. No one heard from you, even when San was in the hospital that night. Then finding out that Holly was behind it all and everything else got so screwed up."

"That doesn't answer my question!" She says a little more forcefully, interrupting him before he could move on. "Why was it so _easy_? And don't blame going back to old habits."

"The decision wasn't exactly set in stone when I came to talk to you. But none of that went the way I fucking wanted it to. And yeah, I made some really dumb decisions when I said the things that I said to you. I've had months to think about how bad I messed up Rachel and I know now, for the future too, that I don't need to do shit like that anymore."

"It really didn't go how you planned," Rachel laughs dryly and looks up at him.

"I know what I wanted then and I still want it now. You, Ray. I fucking love you and it killed me every single day you were gone. It was like everyone else was as miserable as I felt because I was such a fucking downer around here."

She honestly doesn't know what to say to his confession, that he's been so hurt after Valentine's day. That he's been in so much pain while she's been gone. But all of it is hard to believe, because he _is_ such a good actor.

" I've apologized Rachel and I know that I fucked up. But I don't know if I'll be able to keep apologizing and keep trying to make it up to you, going in circles, if you're just not going to believe anything I say about it."

"I just want the truth," she meets his eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"And I've told you the truth!" Puck stands up and starts to pace, much like the first night they saw each other after the competition. "That picture didn't mean anything. And I've regretted _everything_ I've done to hurt you."

Rachel nods and wipes her cheek. "I just need time, I guess, to sort everything. And now that we're both back, I just wanted to clear the air so nothing will be awkward."

"Fine," he downs the rest of his beer and slides it onto the table. "I get it, you can't trust me right now."

"I never said that, Noah."

"I've gotten pretty good at reading you Rach, you've got trust issues and that's fine." Puck glances at her, ending the conversation as he turns on the TV.

"Okay," she says quietly and stands up, pulling the strap of her purse up onto her shoulder. Rachel moves past him and opens the door before she hears his voice.

"What I said, the night you came back, I meant it. If being friends is what it takes to get us back together then I'll do it. But I'm not going to kill myself in the process. If or when you decide that you don't think we should be together, I'll deal with it. Just let me know first."

She sighs and runs her hand through her hair. "We'll talk soon Noah." Rachel smiles tightly and moves out the door, closing it quietly.

* * *

><p>Puck is going insane while walking onto the set of this music video that Finn got him, but the giant he calls his best friend, is currently glancing at him and every now and then. It's not unusual for Finn to accompany him to these kinds of things, being his agent and all, but these weird looks are going to make him punch the next person he sees.<p>

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Puck finally snaps and stops in between the makeup area and where everyone else is waiting for him, staring at Finn.

"Nothing!" Finn shakes his head and looks forward. "Just trying to see if you're nervous or whatever."

"And would you please give me a reason why the fuck I would be _nervous?_ It's my job to act. Plus it's a music video so it's not like I have any lines to remember." Maybe he's slightly nervous. They wouldn't even let him read the lyrics and that just doesn't seem fair for whatever reason.

"I know, but, when I told you how they wanted to do the video and all…"

"So I have to pretend that I'm really into this chick for it? Who cares? A few kisses or whatever isn't a big fucking deal, Hudson."

"You say that now…" Finn mumbles to himself.

They move into the area where everyone is standing for one of the bigger scenes they're doing inside of a studio. There's a large group of people along with a ton of other people who work on the lighting then the director himself behind the camera.

"Alright guys! Everyone gather around so I can go over what we generally want for this group shot now that Mr. Puckerman is here." The director hops off his chair and moves in the space between a row of cars and a bunch of walls to make it look like the parking lot of a warehouse or something. Puck's not exactly understanding the whole theme of this, but he stands by some people and smirks when a girl giggles next to him. "First of all, welcome to the first day of shooting for _Teenage Dream!_" Oh, so that's the theme. Makes a little bit more sense now. "Mostly, I want all the background actors to just be dancing and looking like you're at a huge outdoor party. We were all teenagers once, just think back to when you were younger." The man laughs and grins at everyone.

The group laughs along and he chuckles a little bit with them. He's mostly looking around to look for the woman that he has to pretend he's in love with. But he doesn't recognize anyone so he leans back against the makeshift wall and listens as the director emphasizes on the theme a little bit more.

"Rachel, dear?" Puck looks up towards the director and sees his ex girlfriend standing there in short as hell shorts, looking really sexy with her hair in curls and a vest on. "Lots of dancing, like you would in a club. Then we'll move on to the bed scene with you and Puck, before we come back to work on this group shot again. Tomorrow we'll head up to Santa Barbara in the afternoon to finish up the beach and road scenes then wrap with the pool. How does that sound to everyone?"

His heart stops as he looks at the woman in front of him while everyone is cheering around them and getting ready to start shooting. How is he going to be able to control himself while actually _being_ in love with her and have to dance with her like he's in a club? He remembers their trip to a club in Vegas very vividly. Then a bed scene? How is he going to pretend to have sex with her for this video when he really wants to touch her like that in either his or her bed. Puck swallows and moves over towards the center of the floor. He's fucked.

She looks up at him nervously, biting her lip as he makes his way over to her. They've dressed him how he normally would on any given day. Jeans, boots, a plaid shirt, and the only thing that seems out of place is the jean jacket they have on his broad shoulders. When he's standing in front of her, both of their eyes move over to Finn's. The taller man's eyes widen before he turns around and moves towards all the snacks that are on tables for everyone.

"Hello, Noah."

"Hey," Puck says indifferently, trying to hide how really fucking nervous he is now. "Did you know that I was cast for the part?"

Rachel shrugs, "I didn't know anything." She hates that her shoulders feel really tense right now, just standing here and talking to him.

Ever since she found out that her first single wouldn't be a song that she's written, the petite brunette hasn't exactly been looking forward to doing this music video. It's an upbeat song that's perfect for the summer and the lyrics are actually quite sweet when she read through it, but now that Puck is standing in front of her as the man in the video, well, she isn't exactly thrilled. But just _knowing_ the lyrics, especially since it's called _Teenage Dream_, this music video is basically showing how she felt the entire time when she was dating Puck. It's like the world is trying to tell her something. Maybe even her friends, since Finn's reaction was very odd when they looked over to him.

Now Rachel is really glad that she went to his apartment yesterday to try and clear the air. It looks like they needed it in order to get through this.

"Good thing we're professionals." Rachel tucks a strand of hair behind her hair before looking up to meet his hazel eyes.

He smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. "We're a couple of hot Jews, we won't even have to act. I already know how to get you all worked up. You'll have to control yourself in front of all the cameras though. I can't _actually_ fuck you on that bed."

Her jaw drops. "You are so disgusting! I'll prove you wrong though." Rachel lifts her chin defiantly and mirrors his smirk.

Puck moves closer to her, dropping down so that his lips are next to her ear. "And how much do you want to bet that you'll be wet by the end of this shoot?"

Rachel pushes him away and rolls her eyes. "Just do what you're being paid to do." She laughs and steps away before turning around, laying a hand on his arm.

"You okay?" He looks down at her, furrowing his eyebrows. It wasn't his mission to make her feel awkward, but he thought joking around would help her look and feel less tense.

"I am glad that it's you here. The thought of having to do all of that with a complete stranger was a little…unnerving." She smiles and moves to drink some water while the director makes a few final comments.

* * *

><p>After the bedroom scene, Puck's pants are extremely tight, and he's having to take deep breaths, releasing them slowly out of his nose so he doesn't absolutely lose it. Unbuttoning the tight jeans that they had her change into, then kissing her in just a bra nearly killed him. But now, she's grinding against his crotch and it's driving him insane. At this point, he's ready to just take her up against a wall because he's missed her body just as much, if not a little more, than just being around Rachel as her boyfriend. And she's gained a hell of a lot more confidence as the day has gone on. It seemed perfect during their other scene when she was acting all nervous and shy like an <em>actual<em> teenage girl would in a hotel room alone with her boyfriend, but now… his brain can't even focus on one single thing. His hands are all over her hips and he can hear her quietly singing the lyrics while the music plays in the background.

And fuck, he _wants_ to be her teenage dream tonight.

The director finally wraps for the night, and she's relieved. Rachel a little nervous and feels like everyone can feel the sexual tension on the set right now. But mostly she's glad that Finn had to leave in the middle of the bedroom shoot. Who knows what he'll even say to Santana, Mike or Brittany about what he's seen between the two of them right now. It certainly wasn't hard to act like they were in love, because all the little touches made her remember all the time they spent together. Having to dance up against Puck and kiss his lips again drove her crazy. She wasn't being realistic with herself when she told Brittany and Santana that she was over him during their multiple phone calls while she was away. But the second they had to kiss for the music video, Rachel knew she was a goner.

The way that he was moving his hands all over her body and the feel of his body up against hers again, that's how she ended up following his car coming back to his apartment.

Puck presses Rachel against the wall in the elevator going up to his floor. She wraps her legs around his hips, causing her jean shorts, that she's still wearing from the shoot, to ride up even more. They barely hear the 'ding' that lets them know they're at his floor. The woman against his chest tries to move to get down but he holds her tighter and walks towards his apartment. Her back is now against the front door as he fishes for his keys to open it. A small whimper escapes her lips as he attaches his own against her neck. Finally he gets it open and fumbles around with the lock then moves towards the kitchen. Puck drops her onto the counter and starts to remove her shorts while she takes off her grey and white striped tank top along with the vest and her bra, then moves on to ripping off his shirt. Now that they're naked, he pulls her to him again and attacks her mouth feverishly. His hands run up the smooth skin of her legs until they hook under her ass and lifts her up. The counter is a bit too high for him so he's definitely not going to fuck her there.

She wraps her legs around his hips, again, until Puck knows she's safely entangled in him. He pushes her up against the refrigerator, the cool metal making her gasp. Both of her hands automatically reach up until she's holding on to the edge of the top. Her eyes are closed, but she knows he's staring at her. Rachel arches her body towards his and grinds a bit, hoping he'll get the hint that she _needs_ him to do something. Puck enters her quickly but doesn't move at all. His thumb brushes against her clit and it feels _so, so_ good. She whines and breathes out his name quietly.

He knows that she wants more. Puck knows every inch of her perfect body, but he keeps swiping slowly at her clit. As desperately as he wants to move, he hasn't been inside of her since January. Puck feels like he's at home, as un-badass as that sounds. His lips reattach to her neck, as he keeps moving his thumb ever so slowly. She's tightening around him and moaning quietly. By the end of the night, he'll have her screaming his name.

"Noah," Rachel moans out. Her head drops down so she's looking into his eyes, biting her lip gently before she tightens her thighs and lets go.

In the few seconds that she starts to recover, he begins to pound mercilessly into her, causing Rachel to moan loudly. He hears her mutter out a 'yes' then a loud gasp right after. "That's right, baby, tell me what you want."

A choked out sob comes out as she moves one hand down to the back of his neck. Her grip on the top of the fridge is causing her knuckles to turn white while trying to thrust back. All of her effort isn't working but Rachel knows that he can tell, because he starts to thrust even harder. "Fuck, harder, Baby," she manages to get out while arching into Puck even more.

A grunt comes out as he gives her what she wants. He's so turned on by Rachel wanting it harder. His hands move from under her ass to her hips, using the fridge as leverage, then gives it to her even more. She's surely going to have bruises but he can't help but hold on tightly. Puck just doesn't want to lose her again, in any way. And even if she is bruised, he's going to be sore as hell because he definitely hasn't worked out any of these muscles while she's been gone for her show. If anything, his right arm is stronger now. Her walls are tightening around him, causing him to drop his head against her chest as he feels his release coming.

Rachel uses the hand that's on his neck to move down to his bicep where his tattoo is, digging her nails into the flesh there as her body suddenly tenses and she's coming around his cock. "Noah!" she pants out while she feels him releasing inside her. She bites her bottom lip and falls forward onto his body, her head resting against his shoulder. Pressing a light kiss there, she feels like falling asleep. Her body isn't used to this type of 'exercise' anymore.

"Bedroom?" Puck asks then pulls away to look into her eyes. "My sister is staying at the condo tonight for whatever reason."

Rachel nods and leans forward to kiss him again. As they move away from the fridge, she can feel the cool air on her now sweaty back. He stops and locks the door before moving towards his room, placing her lightly onto the mattress. Puck climbs over her, his knees moving between her legs while his right index finger moves up her stomach.

"I missed you," she admits quietly before arching up when his finger is right underneath her breasts.

"I missed you, too." Puck leans forward and kisses her slowly. "Let me show you how much."

She whimpers as he starts to move slowly over her, an immense change from the sex they just had minutes before. It's slow and almost, _loving_, in the way he's touching her. Puck is dragging his lips across her collar bone before moving up and kissing her again. It's quiet except for her small whimpers and Puck whispering things into her ear.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Rachel tiptoes to the living room to put on her clothes before leaving. They're finishing up the rest of the video today and a few scenes with just the two of them together. But she <em>cannot<em>, or more like refuses, to go to set in the same things she was wearing when she left yesterday.

When she's waiting in her hair and makeup chair, a blonde appears out of the corner of her eye. "Quinn," Rachel says shortly before looking over to make sure that Puck is actually filming his scene so he won't have to see them talk.

"Rachel," the blonde drawls out before running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you, before I left."

"Going somewhere?" she replies curtly before setting her magazine aside and facing her body towards Quinn.

"Actually, yes," she smiles. "I got a role on a TV show in New York. I'm leaving right after I talk to you. A change would be really nice right now, but I know I need to set things right with you before I go. It's the least I could do since I ruined your relationship and I've already talked with everyone else."

"I see…" Rachel drawls out and raises an eyebrow at the woman across from her, waiting for the explanation.

"I know I messed up really bad, Rachel, and I feel awful. I thought Holly had good intentions. I mean, she was my best friend and Holly was happiest when she was with Puck. I just wanted her to be happy again." She looks down at her hands which are nervously picking at an invisible thread. "But the more it went on, I started to feel weird about it. Puck was barely sleeping and he looked upset all the time. He was really good at acting like he wanted to be near me in public but when we weren't, he just wanted to be alone. He suffered for what he," she pauses and then corrects herself, "_we_, did to you. Trust me, he loves you, so much. And after Valentine's Day, he got even more upset. I'm sure it had something with us going out to lunch that day. Actually I know it did, I saw the pictures and I feel terrible. I really just wanted Brittany to see that I could be a good person."

"Please continue," Rachel remembers the photo that the blonde is talking about and how it caused her so much hurt and confusion over her and Puck. But still she smiles a little bit knowing that it was all just a misunderstanding.

"When he watched you perform on stage, he was happy again. Please give him another chance," she pleads. "Puck has never been this way with a woman for as long as I've known him. He's actually grown up a lot since he met you," both women laugh because despite his age, he was a little juvenile and silly, "but he'll be good to you. Now Puck knows how much you mean to him and he doesn't want to let you go." They both look over where the man in question is filming a scene where he's hitting a punching bag. Puck's sweating and gritting his teeth, looking like he's actually taking his frustrations out on the bag, probably caused by the leggy brunette leaving early this morning. "I caused a lot of problems with my drama with Finn and then everything with Holly. I just owed you an explanation and an apology. I'm really sorry about everything, Rachel, and I hope you'll give him another chance."

Quinn gets up and gives the brunette a small hug. "Thank you, Quinn. It means a lot that you wanted to say all of that."

"Like I said, I had to explain it all to you." She moves to leave, looking over at Puck before looking back over her shoulder at Rachel, smiling. "By the way, congratulations on second place. That's really amazing for how many people you had get past. I voted for you."

She laughs and smiles at woman in front of her. "Thank you, again."

As soon as the blonde disappears, moving past Puck in the process, he takes his place in the chair next to Rachel and wipes some sweat off his brow. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," she smiles, staring ever so slightly at his sweaty chest and reaches over to squeeze his hand. "Would you like to get dinner with me after we wrap tonight?"

His eyebrows shoot up as he searches her eyes, wondering if this is a trick. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

><p><em>So, the music video: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. I can honestly just see Rachel and Puck in it, plus it basically works out perfectly, right? All credit to Katy Perry on that one.<em>

_Almost to 300 reviews. You guys are seriously awesome! I know I owe people little one shot/drabbles, I swear I'll get to them. I gotta go back and take note of what all I gotta do haha.  
><em>


	21. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys,

So I never wanted to be a person who made an entire chapter for an author's note, but here I am. Sorry for the false hope you guys may have gotten in your email.

I have received a lot of reviews saying to update soon, but I've gotten pretty busy since the last time I updated. I got engaged and I'm trying to think of wedding planning, along with trying to get into my program into school. I haven't forgotten about my stories and I know where I want them to go but it's getting the right wording down in order to get to that point. So, no, I will not be auctioning off my story to another writer or anything else.

I really appreciate those of you who have stuck with my stories and I promise I will try to get something out soon. I'd rather wait and get something out that I think is good, rather than just getting something awful out. Again, I hope you guys will stick around for an update. I apologize to leave all of you hanging.

-Jenn


	22. Chapter 21

Hey guys! I know all of you have waited so long for me to post and I appreciate your support. This isn't much of a chapter but I promise you I am working on an ending for it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it regardless.

* * *

><p>He's freaking out.<p>

Rachel knows him pretty well by now and from the way he's gripping the steering wheel, it's kind of clear. The brunette reaches over and squeezes his thigh, hoping to relax him but it just makes him jump. "Noah, what is going on? You're never jumpy. At least not around me."

"I'm fine, Rach."

She laughs quietly to herself, moving to hold his hand then gazes out the window. Her thoughts drift to her conversation with Quinn. That must be why he's acting so weird because the blonde looked at something or someone else before glancing back at Rachel. It almost feels strange to be like this with him again, holding hands and heading out to dinner. But if she was being honest, it's like she's just come home.

Cameras will most likely capture the evidence if they move into a restaurant hand in hand but it wouldn't be something she would regret later. Quinn's words ring through her mind, how she should give him another chance but Rachel isn't entirely sure if they're ready for that just yet, even if their fingers are laced together.

"So I've heard you're working on a new project," she says, breaking the silence before looking over at him.

"You have?"

A small giggle escapes her lips and she nods. "I saw that interview you did the night of the finale. I haven't talked to anyone about it though. It was very sweet of you to not promote it, but I am curious about what it is. Will you tell me?"

Puck nods and pulls into a parking lot for the restaurant, somewhere where they can have a little privacy before heading inside. As soon as they're parked, he cuts the engine and looks over at Rachel. "It's a spin on a fairy tale, Snow White. Sort of a love story but it'll still attract guys to go see it, too, with violence and all that awesome shit that we like."

She searches his eyes as he talks, admiring the way that he looks so happy talking about this project. A smile slowly starts to appear on her face and she loves this moment. "I'm really glad you found something you want to work on. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out." Rachel is about to lean over and kiss him but she quickly shakes her head. "We should head inside. I'd love to hear more about your project when you get further into it though."

"It'll be nice to talk to someone about it that isn't Finn." Puck smirks at her before getting out to walk towards the restaurant.

* * *

><p>The entire time they were at dinner, it felt like old times. Laughing, eating, and just talking about anything that's lingering in their minds. It felt as if it were needed for the both of them and that only confirmed a lot of things that were going through Rachel's mind.<p>

Her car is at the studio still, so Puck took her to it before they said goodbye for the night. Rachel is about to get out but she closes the door and turns to a confused looking man. "I meant it, you know."

He raises an eyebrow and stares at her blankly. "Wanna elaborate?"

"How I was glad that you were there for the video shoot. It would've been awkward with anyone else."

"S'not a problem. I may be a little pissed that Finn didn't tell me anything about it but it was worth it. Actually kind of fun for my first music video. And I looked sexy." Puck waggles his eyebrows.

She rolls her eyes and leans back against the seat then looks into his eyes. The brunette reaches over to move her fingers over his before she gathers up the courage to say what is on her mind. Rachel takes in a big, deep breath before speaking. "I'd like to try us again."

Puck is shocked at her words, but a little relieved too. Those were the exact words that he's been waiting to hear for months. "Seriously?"

She nods and smiles. "Dinner just kind of confirmed everything I've been over thinking since I got done with American Idol. And I think we need a decent job of being friends since then, don't you think?"

He's not entirely sure about her last statement but he nods, not wanting to fuck up this chance with her. "Totally."

Rachel smiles brightly then leans over to kiss his cheek. "I'll call you when I get home," she says quietly before moving over to get out of the car. As she walks towards her vehicle, a grin works its way onto her face and she turns around to look at him, hoping that he's just as happy as she is.

While she walks to her car, Puck feels so fucking happy that he waves goodbye to her a little too enthusiastically. And as much as he wants to go brag to the guys about winning her back, he's going to let her tell them at her own pace. There's no way that he's going to lose her after this.


End file.
